


What Doesn't Kill You

by Soyeahthishappened



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: And straight for Leon, Angst, Bisexuality, Canon-Typical Violence, College Student Reader, Drama & Romance, F/F, F/M, Fluff, I'm so gay for Ada and Claire, Multi, Possible smut, Reader-Insert, only slight reader/ ada and claire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:14:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24809107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soyeahthishappened/pseuds/Soyeahthishappened
Summary: The end of the world (at least you're assuming it's the end) isn't as clean and quick as you expected it to be, but maybe it can be more tolerable with the right company.Neither you nor Leon Kennedy know what awaits you at the end of this night, but your burning desire to survive with your new friends and quick thinking mixed with his perseverance and skill might just get you through to the next day.Now, if only these bastards would stay dead...(Sorry, I suck at summaries)
Relationships: Ada Wong/Reader, Claire Redfield/Reader, Leon S. Kennedy/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	1. Definitely Not a Bear Attack

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! This is my first time writing for Resident Evil, and here I'm writing for the RE2 remake! I hope you like it as much as I like Leon and Claire!  
> This story will follow the journey of Leon and Reader mostly, but there will be some sprinkles of Claire and Ada in here too!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the MC, I'm going for a "shes cute and sweet and I want to protect her, but I'm also scared of her power" sorta thing, so I hope that works out.  
> If you see any errors in spelling, grammar, or have any suggestions then let me know! Feel free to leave me a comment or some kudos if you like, I love to hear from my readers!  
> (B/F)= Best Friend (name)
> 
> Trigger Warnings: Violence, gore

Raccoon City College, otherwise known as RCC; a prestigious and well-known University for it's science, law, and engineering departments. It has ties with the famous Umbrella Pharmaceutical company, and, on occasion, students will intern there and receive positions in the company depending on their performance. 

That isn't exactly your thing, pharmaceutical drugs and medicine, but there were other things the college had to offer that would certainly look good on your resume- like Psychology, for example. 

Getting accepted into RCC was one of your crowning moments as a previously graduated high school student from a couple states over, for when you first sent in your application to the University, you were afraid that they may not accept you. When you got that lovely envelope with your acceptance letter a couple months after submitting everything, however, you were overjoyed. 

One of the main reasons you were so eager to go there is because of your best friend, for they had also been accepted just before you were, and in a matter of months, you were both newly accepted college students looking forward to the rest of your lives. 

The first two years of attendance at RCC were pretty great for the most part, if you look past the stupid spending habits of the board and lack of properly developed facilities like lighting.

Something else you always found nice about the school is their opportunities for students to earn money. They offer all sorts of jobs and tasks for some quick cash, something that you'd taken advantage of a couple of times yourself. They offered janitorial positions, temporary internships for certain facilities within the building like maintenance and in the different major departments, and even some medicinal trials where they would test newly developed medicines and other pharmaceutical things.

Most of these jobs, especially the internships and medication trials, required lots of liability paperwork and prior health testing, but it also paid really well. Lots of students were taking part in it even with the health risks because of the high pay. 

Just because they offered such helpful resources and hold such high status, however, doesn't mean you wanted to spend all your time there like (Best Friends Name). 

During the summer after your second year, you went back hope to visit your family like you usually did during holidays, and when September rolled around and began to come to an end, you began preparations to head back to school. 

On your way there, however, you got a peculiar voicemail from (B/F). 

They sounded panicked, frantic and afraid, urging you strongly to not come back and to stay with your family for a few more weeks. 

Of course, their freaking out only made you step on the gas so you could get there sooner, worry and concern stealing all rational thought from your mind. 

What if they were in trouble, or something bad was happening? There was also the possibility that it could just be a prank, but that nagging feeling in the back of your mind assured you that something really was wrong and that (B/F) needed your help. 

When you were still about a day out, you got another call from your friend, but this time you answered it. 

"(Y/N)? Oh thank god- Where are you right now?" You could barely hear their frantic voice over all those weird noises in the background.

It sounded like a mixture of a lot of things; banging, groaning, and... you're not really sure what else you're hearing, but it sends a chill up your spine nonetheless. 

"(B/F), what's going on? What's all that noise- are you okay?" 

Instead of answering your question, they address something else entirely. "Look, (Y/N) I don't have long to talk, please, just tell me you're still at home!" 

"What? No, of course not! After that voicemail you sent me, there's no way I'd stay away! Tell me what's going on."

A loud crash startles you, and you hear (B/F) gasp behind the speaker of your Motorola flip phone. 

"I-I have to go- (Y/N) please stay away! I'll be at the police station, so you don't have to worry!" There is no time for you to reply to those last words, however, because a telling click alerts you that they hung up. 

The police station? 

Something really strange is going on here, but despite the dread settling in your stomach, you still continue on towards Raccoon City. 

The two of you have been through countless things together, so there's no way in hell you're going to abandon (B/F) now of all times, even if you don't know what's going on. 

\---

No matter what you do for the next day twoish days, you can't seem to get those growls and screeches out of your mind. 

The last thing you heard before (B/F) hung up was a crash and their panic, but you just can't seem to figure out what it was. Whatever happened seemed to frighten them, but besides the odd groans, there was nothing else to go by. 

Something seriously wrong is going on here, and you plan on figuring it out no matter what it takes. 

You're all (B/F) has after that accident with their family a couple years back, so there's no one to look after them other than you. no big brother or parents to call for help.

Like hell you're going to abandon them like that. 

You haven't heard back from them since they called you yesterday, though you've tried countless times to get ahold of them throughout the last day and a half. 

Luckily, you're not far off now. 

You're only about 20 minutes out from the main city at this point, but when you glance down to gauge if you'll have enough fuel to make it the rest of the way, you immediately realize that you'll have to fill up if you don't want to end up needing to ditch your vehicle and continue on foot. 

A quick look at a roadside sign tells you that the Mizoil Gas Station is only about a mile and a half away, and also on the way there, so it'll barely cut into your time. 

Once the station is in your sights, you glance down at your fuel gauge again and see that it hasn't visibly changed yet, but even with the lack of change you can tell that you've only got about 10 miles left before you're empty. 

You pull up to one of the gas pumps and immediately get out, a bit unnerved since you're alone at night and in the outskirts of Raccoon City. 

Not wanting to waste any precious time nor stick around here for longer than necessary you go for the pump and remove it right away, placing the narrow nozzle into your car's filler tube.

You're so engrossed in the task at hand that you fail to notice the suspicious condition of a random police car sitting outside the main store, or that the station appears to be completely abandoned. 

It's not until a jeep pulls up into the pump just behind you that you finally glance around and notice how off everything seems, how empty and barren it is. 

Your gaze zeros in on the police car that looks to have been hastily abandoned with it's two doors ajar, and you think you see the key still sitting in the ignition. You listen really carefully and hear the soft hum of the police car and realize that you were right, whatever happened left them no time to turn off their car and secure their key. 

Another sweep of the immediate area shows the barrenness of the parking lot, and the dimness of the building. 

Why on earth would the lights be out like that? 

You feel the icy cold claws of fear grip at your heart and squeeze mercilessly, leaving your chest feeling tight and your mind spiraling with dozens of questions.

Something in your gut is telling you that nothing good has gone on here in recent hours, but as much as you don't wanna be here, you can't just leave without paying. That's theft!

...and you're also not sure if this is one of those fancy places that holds your car hostage until the person at the counter receives payment. You could rip your cars gas tank out if you're not careful. 

Very slowly you take your hand off the gas pump and look behind you to see if the green jeep is still there, noticing a guy who looks to be pretty young like you standing there and trying to fill up said jeep with a focused crease to his brows. 

He doesn't appear to be particularly worried about the strange atmosphere of the gas station (though that may be because he literally just got here), so you choose to ignore your gut (like an idiot) and point your attention back on your filling your mostly empty car.

Despite you trying your hardest to ignore the dark building ahead of you, you end up looking up at it again and back over at the man with the jeep once more, really not wanting to go in there by yourself.

Yeah, you have no clue who the hell he is or if he's not crazy or anything, but your mind craves assurance of not being alone when you go to pay. 

This time he's looking over the station as well, his light eyes sliding over and observing everything with a deeper crease to his brow line and a sharp frown tugging at his, albeit full, lips. 

"That's weird..." You hear him mumble as he stares harder into the darkness ahead, like he's trying to surpass his humanly restrictions of night vision to figure out what's going on inside. 

His gaze flickers over to you after he voices his unease, and when he sees you already looking at him, he tries to offer a half-hearted smile that doesn't reach his eyes or mask his unease. 

You take that as an invitation to mention the elephant in the gas station. 

"U-Um...," you begin uncertainly, clearing your throat before continuing much stronger, "You wanna go in and pay with me?" 

Surprisingly, he nods his head and looks back towards the building in time for the loud, resounding sound of shattering glass to reach your ears. 

You look back over to the front door of the store sharply and hold your breath, feeling more uneasy as the seconds tick by.

Looks like you won't be paying after all. 

Is it a robbery? Maybe a dangerous animal? 

Your curiosity gets the better of you as you creep around your car and tread towards the front door, hearing faint footsteps follow just behind you. 

The sight of what looks like either strawberry jam or blood catches your attention, but you only stop to look at it momentarily before making a beeline for the front door. 

Oh lord, please don't let this be a setup, and please let that suspicious red substance be strawberry jam. 

You've heard about it in the news before, unsuspecting people trying to do their civic duty and help those in need only to be bamboozled by con artists looking for some quick, dirty cash or something worse.

All you can really do is pray that this dude isn't in on it if that is the case. 

The both of you stand there in silence for a moment before you muster up the courage to crack a joke, "You know, I think I saw somewhere that it's men get half off, after you?" You look over at him after speaking, trying to hide your fear behind false apathy. 

Your attempt at humor doesn't go unnoticed given the returning quirk of his lips, and while there is a fleeting swell of pride in your chest upon being a successful jokester, you realize that you should probably take this seriously and look to make sure no one is hurt. 

The man, whose identity you still know nothing of, opens the door slowly and calls, "Hello? Anybody there?" 

You step up behind him and peek out from around his body, noticing the flashlight on the floor as well as more blood. 

"Do you think it was a bear attack or something?" You whisper nervously, crouching down and swiping the flashlight from the floor as you focus the light on the bloody floor. 

You're not sure what else it could be other than a wild animal attack since there's blood, no bodies, a huge mess, and nothing seems to have been robbed. Plus there's the police car outside, they deal with dangerous animals, don't they? 

But then again, if it was a bear attack then wouldn't there be fur or maybe body parts or something?

"I'm not sure... here, hand me the flashlight." He holds out his hand but doesn't look at you since he's trying to keep an eye out for whatever the hell has caused this mess. 

You place the light in his hand without hesitation, opting to just follow his lead since there seems to be some training on his belt (given his methodical movements and confidence in checking the scene). 

"Maybe you should stay here-" he begins, only for you to cut him off with a curt 'no' and stubborn step further into the station. 

He doesn't say anything else and lets you have your way. 

The light-haired man walks to the left and goes down the row of snacks cautiously, making sure to check the little corner to the left before turning right to look at the far corner where an ajar door sits. 

You stay close behind him all the while, figuring you're safer chilling with him than hanging around outside or at the front by yourself, and are surprised to see that there isn't really anymore blood. Maybe whatever happened isn't as bad as it looks?

Of course, when you turn to walk down the back row, you're proven horribly wrong. 

There sitting on the ground next to the open door is a man in a police uniform; he's panting and clutching his horribly bleeding neck, looking at the ground which is also splattered with the blood dripping from his stained hands. 

"You all right?" Leon asks worriedly, hastening his steps with twitching hands, itching to help the distressed man. 

The man points through the door, but you ignore the gesture and rush forward to help. 

You fall to yours knees in front of the bald police officer and try to get a look at the wound, hoping to gauge just how bad it is to see if you can help with your minimal knowledge on medicine. 

"Sir, let me have a look so I can help you-" 

The man only shakes his head and drops his hand down to his side, still not looking at you or the blond man.

You huff through your nose and stand back up, looking at the kind stranger with a frown on your lips. More than anything, you're hoping he has some guidance to share with you. 

"I'm gonna go check it out, you stay here with him and call the cops, okay?" 

You just nod your head in agreement despite your mind yelling that this bleeding man _is_ the cops, at least, one of the ones called here. 

He nods at you once in confirmation, then disappears through the doorway while you pull out and flip open your phone with shaking hands and immediately try to dial the RPD. 

There's another crash from the other room and a scream as well, a mans scream, and your blood runs cold. 

There are gunshots next, but you barely even register that.

You press your phone to your ear as your breathing grows shallow, waiting desperately for someone to answer the phone. 

The line starts to beep, then it turns off. 

Looks like you're not going to be getting any help. 

You turn back towards the officer so you can explain the situation, only now he's standing up, and his face looks odd. 

You didn't even hear him stand up, and his panting has stopped altogether. That's odd. 

"S-Sir?" You stutter out nervously, frozen in place as he takes a step towards you. 

A door opens behind you by the counter, but you're unable to tear your eyes away from the approaching officer who has begun to make weird groaning noises, like he can't use his voice properly. 

He raises his arms and leans forward suddenly, lunging towards you with an animalistic growl. 

Unable to stop yourself, you scream. 

You scramble to try and get away from the insane officer, only to trip over some of the store inventory that's scattered across the floor. 

Another gunshot goes off, this time much closer and not muffled, and the officer falls backwards. 

"We have to get out of here!" Calls the familiar voice of the man you met outside. 

You don't need any further prompting from him, so you shoot to your feet and bound over to his side, figuring that you're a hell of a lot safer next to the guy with a gun than you would be by yourself. 

He leads the way to the front door with false confidence, shooting at the crazy people trying to attack the both of you who seemed to appear out of nowhere until you're safe at the front entrance. 

A flash of red appears from the left, then the door bursts open and a pretty woman with brown hair throws her arms up, yelling, "Don't shoot!" 

"Get down!" The man orders, which she does without hesitation. 

Another bullet shoots off, and with it, the crazy person behind her collapses. 

He keeps his gun raised and gestures with his head for you to get out, following only after you're in the street next to the girl in red. 

"You alright?" He asks as he looks around wildly for anymore of those things.

"Yeah, I think so... thanks." She breathes, looking up at him with fearful gratitude, her eyes flickering over you briefly. 

"You can thank me later, when we're all safe." He glances over at you and opens his mouth to say something, probably to ask if you're okay as well, only to be interrupted by the noise of what seems like 10 more of those psychos. 

"Holy shit..." The brunette gasps, raising her gun, which you only just noticed defensively. 

They limp closer and closer with each passing second, your cars are all surrounded, and very quickly do you realize that you're running out of time. 

A loud bang startles all of you, and when you look back you see the hideous, mangled face of one of those crazies.

His skin is dark and rotted with blood dripping down his torn cheeks, and his nose is nothing more than two empty holes. It looks like it was ripped- no, bitten off, and his eyes are milky white and unfocused. There is nothing in his face nor his eyes that betray any shred of humanity, and you realize in that moment that he's dead, he has to be, but also alive. 

A living, dead man. 

That propels you into action. 

"T-The police car!" You cry, getting a nod from both in a matter of milliseconds- milliseconds that you don't really have given the quick gaining of the monsters ahead of you three. 

"Come on!" 

The three of you duck and weave to avoid the monsters, and you dive into the passenger seat and scramble into the backseat so the pretty brunette lady can get in too. 

The blond man hops into the drivers seat and slams the door shut, wasting no time in gunning it the fuck out of there while you turn in your seat and watch as those crazies try to grab the car while it passes. 

It's like they have no regard for their lives or sense of self-preservation, like their minds are gone and they're nothing more than empty husks trying to accomplish an unknown goal. 

The large officer who attacked you pops into your mind, the way his mouth opened as if he were wanting to take a big ole' bite out of you... like you were some midnight snack he's been saving for hours. 

They were all that way, and the man from the window looked as if his nose had been bitten off or something. 

Is that what he was going to do? Bite your fucking nose off like the other guy?

That wound on his neck looked kinda mouth sized too...

"O-Oh my god..." You breathe in disbelief, turning quickly to face forward, sinking into the seat with your face buried in your hands. 

The man you were trying to help was gonna _kill you_. 

A moment of silence passes by where you hear nothing but the heavy breathing of your companions, then you hear the woman ask, "What the hell is going on?" 

"I don't know...," the stranger who helped you trails off, glancing in the rearview mirror at your distressed form before adding, "Hopefully, they'll have some answers at the police station." 

"Wait, you're a cop?" 

"Yeah, Leon Kennedy...," he glances at her, then asks, "And you are?" 

"Claire- Claire Redfield." She replies, craning her neck back to look at you, "You okay?" 

"I-I'm fine..." You reply slowly, dropping your hands down into your lap, "This is just... a lot." 

A brief smile plays at her lips, then she asks, "You haven't told us your name." 

Oh, how rude of you. 

You feel your face heat up and reply nervously, "Y/N L/N." You offer no additional information. 

She nods her head once and slowly looks out the window to her right, worrying at her bottom lip with her teeth. 

A moment of slightly awkward silence stretches out between all of you, then Leon asks, "Either of you live around here?" 

"No, looking for my brother. He's a cop too." Claire responds, seeming to relax slightly with something else to think about. 

"What about you, Y/N?" 

Right, you have to socialize to keep things from becoming awkward again. 

"Uh... yeah, I do. I go to Raccoon City College... I was away on vacation and got a call from my best friend, told me to stay away and that they were going to the police station. I'm headed there to find them too." 

Leon glances over at Claire, then looks in the rear view mirror at you and comments kindly, "Well, it's a good thing we found each other," he pauses for a sigh, "I don't know what to expect anymore..." 

Right as he says this you pass a big green sign welcoming you to Raccoon City, but, for some reason, you don't feel all that glad. 

\---

You don't know what exactly you were expecting upon driving into the main city, but suffice to say, this certainly isn't it. 

There are random fires burning at charred buildings and other structures, cars and trash littered everywhere, and so much blood...

"Attention all citizens: Due to the citywide outbreak, your are advised to take shelter at the Raccoon City police station. Free food and medical supplies will be provided to everyone in need."

You first heard the broadcast upon entering the city, but you barely even noticed it for you were too busy staring out in disbelief at the city that had been perfectly normal not 3 months ago. 

"Oh god, this is so unreal..." Claire whispers, looking out the window with wide eyes. 

Leon doesn't acknowledge her words directly and instead assures you both that you're not far from the station, "The police station's not much further. They'll know something." It sounds to you like he's more so trying to convince himself of that than you and Claire. 

"Yeah, but...," she pauses to look up and at Leon, "what if we're the only ones? What if there's no survivors-"

The light-haired man cuts her off before she can finish her morbid thought, sounding like he barely believes it himself, "No, there's survivors. It's a big city... there has to be." 

It doesn't seem like Claire agrees, and, honestly, you don't really either. 

But if that's true, then that would mean (B/F)...

No, you can't think about that right now. 

"W-We haven't seen anyone yet, so maybe everyone really is held up at the police station." You supply despite your lack of belief in the statement, trying to provide a bit of optimism to counter all the doubts. 

"Maybe..." Claire whispers, still looking out the window distantly. 

You look ahead and see a big yellow roadblock in the middle of the street, and, with nowhere else to go, Leon slows the car to a stop right in front of it. 

"Looks like we're walking from here." 

You unbuckle your belt and scoot closer to the window, seeing some blurry figures hunched over something, distorted by the rain covering your side window. 

"More like running." Claire corrects, looking back at you with furrowed eyebrows. 

She looks worried. 

"Yeah good call-"

A loud thump and horrible growls from Leon's side startle all of you, and when your head snaps over to look, you're met with another one of those horribly messed up faces. 

"Jesus Christ!" 

All you do is choke down a scream. 

Suddenly, those dead people start to surround the car, banging, scratching, and hitting the car as they try to get to you guys, and right away you realize that you guys won't e able to get out with all the dead weight (see what I did there). 

"We've gotta back up!" The brunette cries, looking at Leon desperately with a silent plea to do something- anything. 

He shifts the cars gear without hesitation, but when you look back, you're blinded by the lights of a huge semi-truck. 

"W-Wait!" You yelp, alerting them to the status of the road behind you, "There's a truck- It's gonna hit us!" 

"Holy shit- Guys get out! Get out _now_!" Leon yells at the two of you, but you know it's useless. 

"No! There are too many of them, we have to brace ourselves!" You immediately curl up and make yourself as small as possible on the back seat, ignoring the two of them as they try to brute force their ways out of this metal deathtrap. 

"Hold on!" 

Not even seconds later does the huge semi swerve to the side to try and avoid the barrier, but all it does it hit the monstrous people and collide with the police car anyways. 

You can't help the scream that leaves you as you slam into the seat, only to lurch forward in your balled up state and crash to the floor of the car. 

All is still for a few seconds, but the urgency of escaping hits all of you. 

You hear Leon and Claire's doors open slowly, and you begin to carefully untangle yourself to do the same, reaching for the handle to get the hell out of this car as quickly as possible. 

If you're not mistaken, that truck looked like a tanker, and with the state of the city (i.e. the fact that it's burning) you're not confident that you won't all burn alive or explode if you try to stay put. 

Though, maybe exploding is a better fate than being eaten. 

The back door on Leon's side is where you get out from, and, as you're crawling out and struggling to get to your feet, the damn vehicle explodes and sends you flying forward and onto the ground.

You're like a newborn deer trying to learn how to stand for the first time, but you do finally manage to stagger to your feet after a moment of trying to clear the haze clouding your mind. 

A hand on your upper arm brings you to your full height, and when you look up you see Leon looking down at you worriedly. 

He goes to say something before his attention is captured by something else, and all he ends up saying is a worrying, "Oh no..." 

He grabs your other arm and shoves you back and away from the flaming vehicles, throwing himself to the ground with his larger body attempting to shield yours, but he still get's blown away from you and into the wheels of a white car just behind you. 

As soon as all the explodey stuff is over, you claw your way to your feet and stagger over to the man who just saved your fucking life while clutching your mid section, reaching for his arms like he did for you.

"A-Are you okay!?" You ask him this a bit louder than you meant to, the ringing in your ears messing with your audial perception, but if he's bothered by it then he doesn't show it. 

You notice that his sleeves are on fire, so you start to hit the flaming spots with wet hands to put it out. 

"I'm fine- Are you?" 

"Where's Claire?" You ask frantically instead of answering his question, realizing that you never actually saw her get out of the car, only heard her.

You look back towards the demolished police vehicle and feel you heart drop, fearing the worse. 

He seems to realize this just as you do, for he takes a step forward and calls wildly, "Claire! Claire are you okay?!"

A horribly long and painful silence passes by while you both wait for a reply, but, once you finally hear her honey smooth voice, you visibly relax. 

"...yeah!" She sounds out of breath, "I'm alright! Where is (Y/N)?" 

"I'm over here too!" You call back, trying to get a peek over the flaming car, but to no avail.

Looks like hearing her voice is going to have to be enough for you for now. 

"We can't stay here, it's not safe!" Leon calls as the groans and screeches of approaching non-dead begin to gain ground on the two of you. 

"Go on ahead! I'll meet you two at the station!" She replies forcefully, like she isn't really sure if that'll actually come to pass or not; and, given the quickly approaching crowd of people coming towards you, you're not entirely sure that you're confident in your survival chances either. 

"We'll be there!" 

Leon pulls his weapon from his pocket and looks around rapidly for a way out of this mess you've gotten yourselves into, and he goes with the first option he can find: an empty spot between a white car and another that's completely on fire. 

He reaches down and grasps your wrist carefully, pulling you along with his gun raised in a way that'll prevent any accidental shooting. You can definitely see the cop in him now. 

You follow along behind him as quickly as you can, stumbling every now and then when he tugs you too quickly, but for the most part you manage to stay carefully on course.

A horrendous female screech startles you both as you bob and weave through burning cars, crazy dead people, and carnage, and when you look over you're met with the sight of an insane, twitchy lady trying to reach for you both. 

After a moment of just processing everything that's going on, you realize that you recognize the area that you're currently in, so, without giving Leon any proper warning, you yank him off to the left and towards a slightly well lit alley way with a fire burning in the back. 

"Wait- where are we going?" He asks, though he doesn't fight against your lead. 

"This way is a short cut, we won't have to go around the block if we follow the alley." You explain breathlessly, already winded from all the running and avoiding being exploded. 

You lead the officer down the fiery alley with much caution, noticing someone reanimating in the corner, but you just blow past them as quickly as you can manage. 

"Shit... it's everybody...! They've all turned..." He sounds distressed and anguished, like seeing all of this death and destruction is taking a heavy toll on his mind; honestly, you get it, you feel the exact same. 

You lead him down a short stairway and turn into another alley that's lit much better.

The rain beating down on the two of you has no affect on the fires burning throughout the city, though it does soak through your clothes and dampen your covered skin, and, consequently, slows you both down a bit.

The graffitied wall to your right glows purple in the dim light of the singular lamp in the alley before you, and that mixed with the soft orange and yellow glow of fire sends shivers down your spine (though that could also be the rain). Not knowing what could be lurking around the corner or if one of those things is just waiting to take a bite out of you and Leon is eating away at you, but it does well to urge your haste towards the police station. 

"C-Come on, it's not much further." You whisper nervously, jogging towards the staircase leading back up and to the road just in front of the RPD. 

Wet stone makes your ascent up the stairs a tad bit harder, but you both manage to keep the brisk pace without tripping or slipping. 

"There it is." Leon breathes a sigh of relief with his words, smiling at you gratefully before going back on guard. 

You never understood why the police station was so grand and gorgeous when you first moved here, but when you found out that this very building use to be a museum, it all made sense. 

You've never been inside the station before, but you can only imagine it's as grand on the inside as it is on the outside. 

The two of you emerge from the shadowy alleyway with great care to keep quiet while you try to calculate a route to get there directly, but there are way too many vehicles blocking your paths. 

Shattering glass can be heard over the thundering rain that hits every surface around you, but you try not to let that distract you from your journey forward to locate the front fence. 

Those things wander around the car graveyard seemingly aimlessly, though once they catch a whiff of the two of you, their attention is caught. 

As you both hastily pass the burning bus to your left, a body comes tumbling out of the window and starts to reach for your feet, but you just hop over it and lurch forward to avoid being grabbed. 

The human mouth is a disgusting place, so if they bite you, you're certain that it'll get infected (in more ways than one, little do you know). 

There just in front of you two is the entrance to the police station, the metal gate and, unfortunately, a plethora of crazies. 

For the first time in the past hour or so, you realize just how bad it is.

Body parts separated from corpses, people eating human flesh, mangled and torn bodies getting up again and going for the jugular; these aren't your normal crazy people, they have no sense of anything other than this need for more _food_. 

Man, it does not feel good to be on the menu. 

Leon jobs ahead towards the gate and starts to push it open, trying to be as quick as possible so the feasting monster just to your right won't get up and strive for something more... _fresh_. 

You try your best not to focus on the torso separated from it's hips and legs. 

The light-haired officer shoves the metal fencing open and raises his arm for your to get through, wasting not even a second in turning and slamming the gates shut. 

You reach around him and secure the latch so they won't be able to force the barrier open, then you drop your arms and step away, finally allowing yourself a moment to just breathe. 

The beasts reach their arms through the bars and grasp and claw at the air, trying to get a hold of something, anything, they can sink their teeth into. 

Leon steps back, and you decide to put a little extra distance between you and the bars as well. 

"J-Jesus Christ, this is crazy!" You cry suddenly, reaching up to card your fingers roughly through your hair. "All those people, it has to be the whole block!" 

Leon doesn't say anything right away, instead he only gazes at the desperately grasping people reaching through the fence with a crease to his brown and heavy frown on his lips. 

He turns his head when he's unable to look anymore and focuses in on you, "Hey... hey, it's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay- _we're_ gonna be okay. This is supposed to be a refuge, so surely there has to be someone else, anyone else, inside. We're safe now." 

You're note entirely sure you believe it, or if he even believes it, but still you swallow and nod your head to show you understand. 

"You're right... I'm sorry." 

He looks taken aback by your suddenly apology, and is none to keen on accepting it either, "Don't apologize, I get it. This is a mess of confusing shit none of us were expecting to deal with today, but we're safe now." He reaches up and places both hands on your arms, squeezing in what he hopes is a comforting way. "Now, let's go in and see if there's anyone who can tell us what the hell is going on." 

You nod once much more confidently and take a deep, slightly shaky, breath, turning your attention to the less magnificent front door of the RPD. 

One can only hope that what lay inside is no worse than what awaits outside these fences, and boy do you hope. 


	2. I'm Pretty Sure You're Dessert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm constantly tempted to call him Leon Skennedy because of Jacksepticeye's play-through.  
> Lets also play spot the marvel quote, lol.  
> If you see any errors in spelling, grammar, or have any suggestions then let me know! Feel free to leave me a comment or some kudos if you like, I love to hear from my readers!
> 
> Trigger Warnings: Violence, gore, minor character death

You look down either side of the front yard area, searching for any signs of trouble or maybe something useful, but when you see nothing, you take a few cautious steps towards the front doors of the police station. 

It's dimly lit and shadowy, and the slick stone steps shimmer as you approach and the positioning of your view of the lighting shifts. 

That familiar feeling of dread sinks to the bottom of your stomach, a feeling similar to that of when you eat too much bread or sweets and it leaves you feeling slightly sick, but you try to ignore the nervousness and fear. This place is supposed to be a sanctuary with medical supplies and food, so the inside has to be loads safer than out here. 

At least, that's what you tell yourself as Leon steps up to the doors with his gun raised and his finger poised above the trigger incase he needs to do some quick shooting. 

The doors swing open with minimal force as the rookie cop pushes through with you hot on his heels, and you're relieved to see nothing waiting to eat your toes just inside. 

"Oh thank god." You breathe slightly over dramatically, doubling over with your hands on your knees as if you'd just run a marathon or something. 

You feel a hand fall onto your hunched shoulder and hear Leon ask worriedly, "Are you okay? Do you need to take a break?" 

"No... I'm okay. I'm just glad there are none of those things in here waiting for us." Verbalizing your fears out loud makes you a bit feel weird since sharing isn't really your strong suit, but everything about this night has been weird so far, so you'll live (metaphorically, you aren't sure what could be hiding behind the desk over there. "What do you think was wrong with those people?" You ask softly after a moment, looking down at the floor between your bent knees. 

"I have no idea." Leon replies, shaking his head as if to dispel the last 30 minutes or so from his memory. 

"B-But the officer at the gas station! He was alive and then... a-and those people outside..." You can't even properly articulate your spinning thoughts, feeling like you're drowning from the mind out. 

"I know..." The blond man sighs, asking a moment after, "I forgot to ask because of all the, uh, you know... but are you okay?" 

You nod your head quickly and straighten your stance, trying to sound and look okay, "I'm fine, everything's just freaking me out. The city, the crazy people..."

When you stand up straight again, his hand falls form your shoulder and returns to his side, but you barely notice that since you're so focused on the sight before you.

A huge statue of what you can only assume is a goddess dominates the room, demanding attention and admiration from those who see it, and the light just so happens to shine on it as if the shining from the heavens has come to make her glitter with beauty and power. 

How dramatic. 

The huge staircases leading up to another less attention grabbing lion statue barely registers since it's so much darker in those areas (though not as dark as outside), but it still doesn't escape your keen eyes; and neither do the medical cots and privacy barriers. 

It definitely looks like this place held up as a medical outpost and sanctuary to non-dead humans, but where are they? There aren't even any crazy people waiting around. 

You begin turning your head to the right when something glowing catches your attention: a computer. 

It is definitely on and possibly has some answers to your numerous questions. 

Since there's no one popping out at you at the moment, you go ahead and walk past Leon at a normal pace so you can snoop around a bit. 

The rookie cop follows behind you briskly, calling out as you stride forward, "Hello...? Is anybody here?" 

He turns in circles a few times while you lean over the monitor and tap the keyboard, smiling when it doesn't demand a password or go blank. 

As soon as it flickers onto whatever the previous person was looking at, you mumble a triumphant 'hell yes' under your breath and observe the security feed that opens up. There are hallways and a set of stairs, though you can't see any movement on any of the four panels. 

Your soaking wet clothes drip water onto the floor, and your wet hair makes droplets fall to the desk around the computer and onto your arms. It's mostly an inconvenience, but a really annoying, uncomfortable inconvenience.

You feel a looming presence over your shoulder suddenly and feel rather than hear Leon speak just behind you, "There has to be someone here..."

Sudden movement in the bottom right corner of the four panels catches both of your attentions, and you can't help the surprised gasp that flies from your lips. 

"L-Look!" You move the mouse and click on that individual box, maximizing that portion of the screen for a more clear view. 

A man fires off a shot at one of those things as it chases him, and then it pans to another camera of a hallway (you shifted windows when he went off screen) that he takes off down. 

"Not good." 

_"David! Marvin! You there?"_ The digital man yells, most likely speaking to the camera. _"I found a way out! It's in here!"_ He cries as he takes his eyes of the undead man to show off some notebook clutched in his hands. 

As the inhuman-human gets closer you feel your breaths quicken, praying to anything that he turns and stops it before it hurts him.

The mystery man does turn back and raises his gun to shoot, letting off a round that would've stopped any normal person in a heartbeat. 

This undead freak lunges forward and you reach up and cover your eyes, not wanting to see what happens next. 

You hear some grunts and the growls of the undead man, awaiting the screams that you thought were coming, only to be surprised to hear him speak again clearly, _"Send reinforcements! East Hallway!"_

A little gap between your index and middle finger on your right hand lets you watch as the man runs off screen again with the hungry man following slowly, but you don't get to see what happens next because Leon reaches around you and brings a little map to the front so you can look at it.

"We gotta find that guy." He states with much determination, looking down at you with quite a bit of confidence considering all you guys just witnessed. 

You drop your hands to your sides, slightly embarrassed that you hid from the scene like a child afraid of a movie, and nod your head, chewing at your bottom lip in a subconscious show of distress. 

"Y-You're right. He could get surrounded like we almost were back at the gas station." 

The blond man looks down at you for a moment, seemingly deliberating over something before he cautiously suggests you split. "Maybe you should stay here... We don't know what's in there, you could get hurt." 

Is he really suggesting that you guys split up? This is literally horror movie 101, the sooner you split the sooner one or both of you fucking _dies_. 

There is no way in hell that you're about to be a horror movie cliche. 

"No way! Haven't you heard the quote 'together we are stronger'? Walter Payton? I've seen one too many movies to just stick around here waiting to be someone's dinner-" you cut yourself off, then add, "Or maybe you're the dinner and I'm just dessert..."

A silence stretches out between you two as you try to determine if you're dessert or he is (I mean come on, it's not like you haven't noticed that he's _really_ handsome, but does that qualify him to be dessert?), but you ultimately realize that this is a waste of time.

"No, it doesn't matter who is dinner or dessert. What matters is that I'm definitely coming with you cause I don't wanna stick around here waiting to be eaten." Your mind is made up, so there's no way in hell you're gonna let him leave you behind. 

"You're right... I don't think this is the time to be splitting up. We'll go together, okay?" 

Satisfied, you smile slightly and nod your head. 

The blond officer turns towards the big black box next to the computer and opens it up, a small smile of his own upturning the corners of his lips as he grabs something from the bottom. 

"... I'm pretty sure that you're dessert, by the way, since it usually comes after dinner and..." he trails off but doesn't finish his thought. 

'And' what? 

"Oh, good." He straightens suddenly and you're surprised to see a gun clutched in his hand, pointed down at the ground as he checks it's magazine. "Here, you can have this one." He says as he offers the firearm to you, which you accept with only a little hesitance. 

You've held Airsoft and BB gun's before, and you mostly know proper holding technique, so it shouldn't be too hard. The worst thing is recoil, right? 

"Do you know how to shoot?" You nod despite only having minimal, superficial knowledge, and he continues, "The gun is full, but I don't have any extra bullets for it right now, so shoot only if you have to and very sparingly." 

Sounds easy enough. 

"Okay, I'll try not to shoot you." Humor is your last defense at this time, for you've already shown fear, talked about your fear, and spilled your worry for your friend, so you gotta seem as unbothered as possible. It's more for yourself than for him, though, because it's all that's left tethering your mind to sanity and false calm. 

He cracks a smile at your morbid joke and pats your shoulder lightly, glancing down at the computers map really quickly before focusing over your shoulder to the metal shutter blocking off one of the hallways. 

"I think that way'll be our best bet." He mumbles mostly to himself, taking a few steps towards the medical cots and military grade containers just below the metal shutters. 

You stick close behind him, looking around at the marbled floors and other things in the immediate area, spotting a silver spray can resting by its lonesome on one of those green chests. 

With slightly shaky fingers you grasp the can and shove it into your drawstring backpack, which you had half a mind to keep on this whole time (more like you forgot it was there since it only has your wallet and a few miscellaneous things). 

Leon steps in front of the metal shutter and looks at the cardboard sign that says 'Keep out!' with a grimace on his face. 

"We... we gotta go in there?" You ask as you join him at his side, gazing at the dirty metal and big sign with a similar expression. 

"Yeah. You can stay here if you want."

Oh, not this again.

"No way! I already said that I'm going with you, and that's final." You sound more confident then you actually are, but he doesn't need to know that. 

"Alright, alright." He looks from side to side for a way to open it, then adds much softer, "You don't have to worry, I'll keep you safe. I promise." 

Well, that certainly warms your little frightened heart. 

"Thank you, Leon..." 

And that's the end of that conversation. 

You crouch down in sync with Leon, and he raises his flashlight to illuminate what little you can see of the hidden hallway. 

It's not looking too good...

He shines the light back and fourth, waiting in-case he hears any signs of 'life, then pops his head and part of his upper body out through the bottom. 

You get down on your stomach right next to him and watch in horror as crimson shines back at you; a truly awful smell makes you momentarily nauseous, like rotting flesh and metallic blood all wrapped up with a disgusting waft of _death_. 

"Jesus Christ..." You breathe in disbelief, already dreading having to crawl across the sticky, gross floor to get out from under this metal shutter thing. 

"Here, let me get out first." Leon whispers, not waiting for a response from you before he crawls through using his elbows. 

He doesn't dilly dally and pushes himself to his feet as soon as he's through, looking down the dark, eerie hall for any signs of trouble before turning back to you and offering up his blood dirtied hand. 

"There's nothing here, you still wanna come?" 

You place your hand in his without hesitation, using his weight as an anchor for you to pull yourself out with as little drag as you can possibly manage. 

This mixed with your rain soaked clothes successfully makes your skin crawl as a dirty feeling genuinely makes you consider going outside to wash this blood and muck, off. 

Now that you're actually in the putrid hallway, the smell is even worse. It's like a cinderblock of pungency just hit you in the face, because you feel momentarily dizzy as all signs of fresh air disappear under the metal shutter. 

A quick glance to the right shows you an endless amount of tacked up and ripped papers as well as bloody handprints and dried sections of pure red up against the wall. You can only hope that it's not the blood of a living person and of one of those things. 

Leon turns his attention away from the blood and papers and spots an electrical looking box that's missing a fuse, striding over to see if it's on the ground or something. 

No luck.

The two of you carefully and methodically make your way down the hall of horrors, trying a set of red doors that don't budge on your way, and still see no other signs of dead or living people. 

A lounge/waiting room waits at the end of this tiny hall, you can tell from all the furniture and vending machine, but a quick flash alerts you both to the fact that there is another turn to go down. 

"Hey, stay behind me." He tells you firmly when you step away from his side to look at the flashing lights, his gun now hanging at his side in his dominant hand and the flashlight raised in the other. 

You, of course, do as he says per the agreement. 

The blond rookie cop takes a deep breath as he strides forward a few paces, mumbling an encouragement to himself on the way. "You got this..." 

It might not be the time to have such thoughts, but you honestly think it's pretty cute.

Water sloshes and splashes to and fro as you guys go through the hallway, though you're not entirely sure where it's all coming from just yet. There must be a leak somewhere, or maybe a busted pipe that you can't see. 

A pretty pair of white doors to your left catch your attention, but instead of waltzing right up and kicking them open like you so curiously want to, you just reach up and tug on his jacket, silently gesturing towards them.

He catches the hint (thank god, you don't wanna be protected by an idiot) and changes trajectory to the door instead, pushing them open to reveal another dark room just as silent and hair-raising as the halls in your wake. 

There's a very noticeable red light to the far side of the room, a light switch you think, so you blow past Leon to hurriedly flick it on, hating the darkness more than the silence surprisingly enough. 

"(Y/N)- I told you-," he cuts himself short when a couple lights flicker on and illuminate some parts you couldn't see previously. 

Unfortunately, 'let there be light' includes 'let there be a dead body'. 

When you first catch sight of the blood splatters and overturned body, you gasp with shock and cover your mouth to keep from screaming or yelling, and Leon briskly walks over and nudges it with his shoe, sighing with relief when it doesn't move or make a sound. 

"I-Is he dead? Like, really dead?" You ask despite the obvious display of limpness, feeling relieved when he nods his head and begins to cautiously check his pockets. 

Probably disrespectful, but you forget all about that when he pulls out a nice box of ammo. 

You purse your lips and stare down at the body with a grimace before turning your attention to literally anything else. 

It looks like some kind of press release area, though you aren't quite sure what this place was _last_ used for. Have you seen any press conferences on the news lately? Maybe that weird thing about the sinkhole...

The two of you blow through that room and find nothing else of value, and when you leave, there is still nothing else waiting for you in the hallway. That has to be a good sign, right?

Leon approaches the metal filing cabinet in your way and peeks around it, then he grasps either side of it and tries to pull it back. 

He grunts as he exerts himself, trying to get it out of the way which seems not to be going very well. 

"Want me to crawl under and push?" It's an offer that he probably won't take, but you figure that offering it as a possible option might let him know that you are there to help even though you might be a civilian technically. 

As if to prove that he doesn't really need the help, he suddenly grabs it from the inclined side and pulls it back against the wall, releasing another forceful grunt as it clangs against the wall none too quietly. 

"Jeez, okay macho man, never mind." You frame it like a joke, but there is an actual hint of annoyance at his refusal for assistance. 

"I'm not trying to be difficult, but I'm also not gonna let you go under there when we can't see what's around the corner. I promise, once I know it's safe, I'll let you help me. Okay?" 

His point is somewhat fair, but also a bit frustrating. There's no way of knowing if anywhere here is gonna be completely 100% safe, so he may never ask for help. 

You can tell just by looking at his face that he's the type to overwork and sacrifice his well-being for the sake of others, so you wouldn't be surprised if his promise is more of a pacifier to keep you out of harms way. 

You guys just met and he's already making you reluctantly swoon (metaphorically). 

"I want to argue with you," you begin with a half-hearted glare, finishing with a plan for later, "And I will later, once we find that guy and return to the front hall." 

His relief is physically there on his face when you announce that you'll keep the scolding for later (lets be real, he knows he has an involuntary hero problem). "Sounds like a plan." And there's that pretty smile everyone likes so much. 

You barely manage to shake that intrusive thought in time to avoid the flutters, doing so by directing your attention ahead. 

The only thing down the next hall is a barricaded area, a weird red box on the wall, and another door that leads to a bathroom (there's also another hallway adjacent to the red box, but you haven't gotten there yet, it may be barricaded too).

You can hear running water inside, so either someone just used the toilet, or there's a busted pipe/leak like you suspected.

He opens each individual stall with his gun raised and poised to shoot, but the only thing you find is another one of those metal cans. 

When you spot the spray can upon him opening the third stall, you duck under his arm and swipe it so you can store it in your drawstring bag. 

"Ma'am, I may have to arrest you for looting." 

You look up from your bag with a blank expression, finding it funny though not showing it.

"Well, as long as you're the one doing it." You reply before your better judgement and filter can kick in.

An embarrassing thing to say, but it's too late to take it back so you might as well own it. 

Leon flushes, cheeks tinging red as he rubs at the back of his neck shyly, figuring that he technically walked into that one. 

To bypass his awkwardness, you add, "If you _really_ want me to put it back, then I guess you can carry this heavy can in those itty bitty, baby pockets of yours." 

"They are _not_ baby pockets!" He defends rather indignantly, shyness and embarrassment flying out the window in favor for continuing this light-hearted banter since there's no immediate danger. "But you're right, if you're not gonna do anything then you can hold the heavy stuff." 

He did not just say that. 

"It's because your muscles are so much weaker than mine." You fire off without thinking.

"Says who?" 

"That filing cabinet." 

He's silent for a moment, then he shakes his head, "That's a low blow." 

"Whoops, sorry." 

There is no remorse in your voice. 

The conversation ends with your unapologetic apology, and the long night continues as you leave the bathroom to explore the next hallway. 

Luckily, you've both gotten used to the smell enough to not notice it if you don't pay it any mind, though the blood and gore is another thing entirely. 

This new area starts off normal (or as normal as usual), and then morphs into a horrible scene when the light focuses on the room all the way back. 

Blood. 

Blood everywhere. 

Three mangled, disfigured, and mutilated bodies that you can see from your vantage point, each one assuming positions on the ground that show you both just how dead they are. 

"Jesus..." 

All remnants of the silliness and happiness from before washes out of you with a tidal wave of fright and petrification, trepidation making your heart jump in your throat when the desperate screams for help begin. 

"Open up! Hurry! Open up!" A quick pause, and then more yelling, "Open this goddamn door!" 

It can only be the man from the video feed, for his voice matches and he's the only sign of life that you've seen/heard thus far.

"Leon!" You cry, snapping him out of his shock. 

He wastes no more time and blows past the bodies in record time, kicking open the door to the little office like area to see how he can help. 

You, not wanting to stay with these bodies all by yourself, run in after him to see if there's anything you can do. 

Another metal shutter separates you from the officer from the security feed, but if the electrical box is all intact then it should be easy peasy to let him through. 

Dealing with whatever is on the other side, however, is a different story entirely. 

There is an electrical box alright, but it's screwed shut and the shutter is stuck. 

"We'll get you out!" Leon calls, crouching down and diving straight for the brute force method. 

He yanks the shutter upwards as hard as he can, somehow managing to rip it up about a foot. 

"Help me! Please, help me!" He cries as he sticks his arms under the shutter, something clutched in one hand while the other grasps wilding at the ground in an attempt to pull himself through. 

You see his head, the fear and distress on his face as clear as day despite how dark it is. 

Dark.

It's always dark. 

"Give me your hand!" Leon urges, grabbing his full hand while the man claws at the ground and pops his head through. "I got you."

An arrow of hope shoots right into your chest as Leon begins to pull him through.

In the movies, this is the moment where a hero is born. They save the frightened person, bring them to safety and console them, and realize their calling in life is to serve and protect the world. It's always a bitter sweet moment of lost innocence, but also triumph, and it signifies the hope of the future, for saving one can inspire desire to save all. 

But this isn't the movies; it's real life, and reality is often disappointing. 

You snap out of your frozen state upon realizing that Leon may need some help and reach out towards him, crying for him to take your hand as the grunts and growls from the other side overtake the officer. 

The blond officer turns onto his back (probably because he can press flat on the ground better on his back than his stomach) and grasps your outstretched hand, his grip tight and almost crushing, though you completely understand why. 

You start to pull him back, grunting from all the effort you're exerting. 

It's almost as if something is pulling him back. 

The scene changes in a matter of milliseconds, blood spurting out from under the metal shutter and quickly followed by his screams of pain. 

Everything is happening so quickly, and your heart is pounding so hard in your chest it may just alert everything in a 10 mile radius of your position, but you remain silent and just keep trying to pull in the now resisting officer. 

Squelchy, wet ripping sounds roar in your ears along side his agonized shrieks, and the front of his uniform is now stained red, but this only makes you and Leon try even harder to get him away from whatever is going on under there. 

"Hang in there!" Leon tells him through clenched teeth, putting his weight into the pull to no avail. 

A few more horrible hours pass by in a span of a few seconds, and then in a last ditch effort to save him, you both give this last pull your all. 

At first, you feel triumphant because he comes loose and slides all the way in, and then you realize that half of him is missing. 

You drop his arm and stumble backwards until you bump the wall, covering your mouth despite no sound coming out. 

His entrails spill out of his legless torso, leaving chunks of red human insides as he's yanked back which are quickly grasped and dragged away by greying, grasping hands sweeping out from under the door. 

"Oh my god..." Leon whispers in disbelief, repeating himself as he falls to his knees next to the man, "Oh my god!" 

The blond officer, not the half dead one, grasps the dying man by his arms and looks him over despairingly, realizing that there is nothing he can do for him now. 

The man looks up at Leon's face with his own hopelessness knowing that this is the end, seemingly wanting to see one good thing before it goes dark. 

He does not move again. 

Leon gets up slowly, pocketing the book the man had clutched in his hands, and turns his head quickly to look at you as if he only just remembered that you were there. 

You don't even notice his focus, though, because your gaze is deadlocked on the unreal, nauseating sight in front of you. 

He was alive just 10 seconds ago, crying for you guys to help him from a fate worse than a regular death, holding onto your hand as glimmering hope that he'll be saved shines in his eyes, and now there is nothing; just dull, lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. 

Your line of sight is blocked by a larger figure stepping in front of you, but still you can't seem to make yourself move. It's like your feet are glued to the floor, like an invisible rope is tying you to this one spot even though you can't see the body anymore. 

A hand comes up and grasps the back of your head, pushing your head into something solid and warm as another something wraps around you and keeps you close.

It's at this moment that you realize these 'somethings' all over you are from Leon wrapping you up in a hug. 

Timing seems to be just as great as usual, because just as you're coming down from your stupor and winding your arms around his middle in return, something begins to slam into the door full force in an attempt to get in. 

The officers screaming must've caught the attention of things you two managed to pass before. 

Leon drops his hand cradling the back of your head and pushes you slightly behind him, raising his gun up since it sounds like the door isn't going to hold. 

Considering how old the brown, intricately designed door seems to be, you're not too surprised when it swings open and slams into the wall, nor when one of those undead things come bursting through it. 

Your blond companion takes aim, and then he fires off three shots right into his head. 

The dead man drops to the floor, and then you and Leon dash out of the room at top speed. 

It seems that hug was just what you needed to remember that you'll be eaten too if you keep stalling, because even as more of those things begin to burst through windows and doors that were previously closed, you keep your pace and do your best to not fall behind Leon as he shoots his way through these newly gathered crowds. 

Of course, you're not okay by any means. When you see the head of one of the dead explode upon being hit in just the right place, you swallow a scream and nearly fall into the blood and grime all over the floor, but a steadying hand on your trembling upper arm hauls you back into action. 

"Jesus, they're everywhere!" Leon hisses in front of you, turning down one of the perviously unoccupied halls only to be bombarded by two more, dare you say, zombies. 

He shoots one down and knocks the other back long enough for you both to slip past and return to the original metal shutter, and it's at this moment that you begin to see the parallels between this situation and what happened with the other officer.

These thoughts propel you forward, and you both begin to slide back under the grate as the groans get closer. 

The shutter is slightly lower than it had been when you first got here, so Leon forcefully shoves it up with his shoulders, grunting with what sounds like pain and effort, and growls out, "Go! Quickly!"

You scramble against the slippery floor and manage to pull yourself out most of the way, turning your head quickly to see a bloodied hand grasping onto Leon's clothes and weighing him down. 

"Goddamn it!" Leon cries helplessly as it crawls further up his body, spurring you on to wiggle the rest of the way out and help him. 

Like some sort of mother fucking ninja, you pull yourself the rest of the way out from under the barrier and roll to the side and onto your butt, raising up your leg so that you can smash your foot into it's ugly ass face. 

Your foot makes contact with it's head, but all it really does is peel back some of it's rotted skin and momentarily stop it from sinking its teeth into your poor companion. 

Right as you begin to fear that you'll lose your new friend, a pair of hands comes into view and yanks Leon back and away from the grasp of the dead man.

"Watch out!" The rookie warns in a panic as it begins to reach for this new persons shoes. 

This helpful stranger grunts an, "Got it!" and then slams the shutter down on it's head. 

You cover your eyes as the blood splatters everywhere and it's brain matter dirties the ground, wishing beyond all else that you won't have to see anything like what you just witnessed, again. 

A quick peek through the gap between your fingers lets you get a look at your unexpected savior, and you're immediately dismayed to see his ashen skin and bloody hand and midsection. 

"You guys are safe... for now." He tells you as he leans back heavily against that almost deathtrap, grasping his wound with a shaking arm. 

"You're hurt." You say without thinking, dropping your red-stained hands to the ground like they're made of lead. "Do you want me to take a look at it?"

"You a doctor?" He asks between pants, looking down at you with furrowed eyebrows. 

Well, technically no, but there were mandatory anatomy and basic medicine classes for everyone at your university no matter the major, and you retained some things like where major arteries are and basic first aid. 

"Not exactly..." Honestly is the best policy, cause you really can't be out here pretending to be a doctor. "But I've taken some classes." 

He doesn't reply to that, seemingly not wanting to address his wound for the time being as he changes the subject. "Marvin Branagh." 

"(Y/N) (L/N)."

He looks at Leon after you reciprocate. 

"Leon Kennedy." He sounds pretty out of breath, probably still reeling from his brush with being cannibalized, before adding somberly, "There was another officer... I-I couldn't... I couldn't..." It seems like he can't even get the words out. 

The way he says 'I' instead of 'we' breaks your heart, because very quickly do you realize that he blames _himself_ for what happened to that man. He feels responsible, and you have a feeling it's because of that protective, heroic nature that lurks within him. 

You stagger to your feet and inch closer, resting your hand carefully on his shoulder. 

Marvin, also sensing Leon's anguish and guilt, limps forward and offers him a hand, "Here." 

Leon accepts the helping hand, gaze focused on the ground as the moment seems to replay in his mind. 

"I'm sure you did what you could, Leon." 

Silence stretches out between the three of you, though not exactly an awkward one. More so is it a silence of momentary mourning for a fallen soul. 

Even if it's not awkward, it's still killing you that no one will say anything, so you take it upon yourself to scurry on over to the supply boxes and look for new clothes, 'cause you're cold, dirty, and shivering like a freaking Chihuahua. 

Unfortunately, you find nothing. 

"Looking for something?" Marvin asks from just behind you. 

You can't contain your flinch when his voice appears behind you so suddenly; man does he move quietly for an injured man. 

"Ah, Lieutenant Branagh, I-I'm trying to find some new clothes... mine are really c-cold and sticky." 

You and your companion may have been joking about looting earlier, but you really don't want this guy to think you are. 

"You can call me Marvin..." He begins, seemingly wanting to ease some of your nerves, then adds with a small, pained smile, "I think I have just the solution for that. You want in, Leon?" 

"...Uh, yeah, can I, please?" 

His apprehension and shyness make you smile for the first time in a while, and at this moment you realize that maybe everything isn't so horrible after all. As long as you've got Leon, who is now your old new friend, and Marvin, your new-new friend, then perhaps things will begin to turn for the best. 

Of course the power of friendship won't stop someone from eating your face off or anything, but it'll definitely help keep you safe and calm enough to avoid being killed via panicked stupidity. 

Regardless, you've got a new set of clothes waiting for you somewhere, and you plan on taking full advantage of this ominous offer.


	3. Peachy Keen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this isn't how safe cracking works, but for the sake of time and avoiding tediousness, we gotta use our imaginations. Also, the title has little to do with the majority of this chapter, but since it's kinda angsty and gorey, I figured it'd be better to keep the title(s) light hearted to contrast the horror and angst.  
> If you see any errors in spelling, grammar, or have any suggestions then let me know! Feel free to leave me a comment or some kudos if you like, I love to hear from my readers!
> 
> Trigger Warnings: The usual

Marvin lead you and Leon behind the front desk area and to a cluster of small couches, medical cots, privacy screens, and a few other things, and directed you two to Leon's rookie uniform and some extra clothes for you to put on as well. 

You managed to get your hands on a long sleeved shirt, some slightly loose fitting pants, socks, and even some elbow and knee pads left over from other officers. Unfortunately, there were no options for an underwear change, but you did find a nursing tank top buried in one of those green medical boxes and some underdress shorts that'll have to do. 

Since you're going for the full outfit change, you duck behind one of the privacy screens and pull off your wet, bloody, and crusty clothes, struggling with how much everything sticks to your skin.

"Stupid fucking-!" You cut yourself off and stomp your foot petulantly, fear and despair making way for unreasonable anger at inanimate objects; but, to be fair, it's like your clothes straight up don't want to be taken off 'cause they're sticking to you like glue.

You stop your struggle with your arms stuck over your head and your shirt stiff and stretched across your shoulders and head and huff, realizing that angry struggling won't do you any favors.

Eventually, after taking a moment to breathe and calm down, you manage to rip your shirt off and throw it straight over the screen, letting your anger fall flat like your wet shirt onto the ground. 

"You alright over there?" Sounds like Marvin. 

"Just peachy." Your tone is flat and very not peachy, laying your frustration on very thick so nobody mistakes your sarcasm for actually feeling great. 

By some luck, your pants come off much easier and are quickly followed by your undergarments and soaking socks, and within the next few minutes you're dressed and decked out with lovely knee and arm pads and a cut little utility belt thing to hold important stuff like the gun Leon gave you. 

You step out and into the open and see Leon standing in front of Marvin and adjusting his elbow pad, his gaze focused on the screen of the computer thing Marvin has in front of him on the small black couch. 

"Does anyone know what started this?" Your blond friend asks, though he sounds like he doesn't expect an actual answer given what he's seen here thus far. 

"Not a clue." Marvin replies absentmindedly, adding after the screen of the computer changes, "But honestly, all you need to know is that this place will eat you alive if you're not careful." 

Your gaze adverts from the glowing screen and back to Leon when a click from his general direction catches your attention, and you're surprised to see that he really is decked out in full on police gear. 

He's really, dare you say, handsome in his uniform, not to say that he wasn't before of course. It's just that, since you aren't running for your life right now you have the chance to really appreciate his well sculpted features. 

"Yeah... well, I was supposed to start last week and got a call to stay away. I wish I'd come here sooner." He didn't mention that before, but it sounds pretty similar to what happened with you and...

Their dialogue back and fourth fades out into distant bla's as you suddenly remember why the fuck you're here in the first place. 

(B/F), who you've seen no sign of thus far, has to be here somewhere, here, or out there with those things. 

You don't entertain the thought that they could be one of them for even a second, because (B/F) is among your list of 'strongest people you've ever known'. They called you two days ago to check and make sure you weren't coming, but maybe things weren't as bad then. But at the same time... if they made it here and the only other people you've seen have been killed or injured...

A quick shake of your head dispels these doubts from your mind, and you finally get the sense to ask, "Marvin, please, have you come across anyone named (B/F) in the last two days? They're about this tall," you gesture with your hands, "They have (color) hair and (color) eyes, and they would've come from Raccoon City College!" 

The two pause their conversation at your sudden outburst and direct their attention to you, something that would usually be a bit unnerving since you prefer to be _out_ of the spotlight.

Marvin furrows his eyebrows and looks at the ground for a moment, seemingly racking his brain for any semblance of a memory for this vague description of your friend, but when he looks up there are no signs of recognition on his face. "Dozens of people have come and gone in the past week, but in the past two day's we've only gotten a handful of survivors, all looking for a way out as soon as they came in. The description sounds familiar, but I'm not completely sure..." 

You aren't sure if this new information comes as a comfort for you or not. 

(B/F) sounds familiar to him, but this building is really only full of kinda dead and actually dead people. 

What would their chances of survival be? Hell, what are _your_ chances of survival? You've only made it this far because of Claire and Leon, and the college is multiple blocks away. Is it foolish to hope that they somehow, against all odds, made their way here and managed to escape the horrors of this police station with their life? 

You visibly deflate upon hearing the answer he had to give, your head tilting down in sync with your lips and droopy eyes. 

"I haven't been throughout the entire station since those things took over, but there's a possibility that there's someone else here somewhere, or even hidden out in other places across the city. Don't lose hope yet."

Marvin speaks to you so much more warmly than he does to Leon, a thought that fills your heart with some happiness even though your common sense tells you that they're most likely dead. 

"Ah, you're right." You pause and rub at the back of your neck awkwardly, looking down at the ground still when you mumble a s soft, "Thank you..." 

A moment of silence washes through the main hall, one that seems impossible to break, so you pipe up once more, "W-What's that book all about?" 

"That officer you met earlier- Elliot." Marvin starts, looking between the two of you as he flips the small notebook open, "He thought this secret passageway might do the trick." 

You walk over and stand next to Leon, trying to get a peek when Marvin holds it out for one of you to grab.

Leon accepts the offered notebook and holds it slightly lower so you can look at it as well without having to peek around him or anything, something you're silently grateful for. 

It looks like a little map, kinda complicated since you don't know the layout of the station nor where anymore of those things may be hanging around, but mostly straightforward if you just look at what's in front of you instead of reading into what you'll need to do to get there. 

"This is good news. We can get you to a hospital." Leon sounds so optimistic when he realizes you'll be able to find proper help for Marvin, but the Lieutenant isn't nearly as enthusiastic. 

"No, no. I am not the priority here. You've got a civilian and yourself to worry about." Something about the way he says it makes you think that there's something he isn't quite telling you, something he knows that the two of you have yet to figure out. 

"Lieutenant, we're not just gonna leave you here-" 

Marvin doesn't give him the chance to argue any further, "I'm giving you an order, rookie! You save yourselves first." His gaze is piercing as he stares at you and Leon, no room left for you two to argue, "I'd come with you, but I'd just slow you down..."

You glance at Leon from the corner of your eye and see him look away, troubled and definitely not appreciating that Marvin is denying your help, but he doesn't try to convince him again.

"Now, you'll need this..." Marvin somehow manages to push himself to his feet, grasping at his wound as he pulls something out from underneath him. 

This 'something' is a huge fucking gun part that makes you shy away, not wanting to even consider the power that is behind that thing. 

"I can't take-" 

"Stop." 

The look on Leon's face makes it look like he's a teenager sick of being scolded by his parents, both in the way he glances away, then slightly rolls his eyes as he accepts the odd gift. 

Before Marvin lets go of the part, he pulls it forward and, consequently, Leon with it. He speaks with a warning in his voice, but his words are what really make your heart drop with dread.

"Don't make my mistake. If you see one of those things- uniform or not- you do not hesitate." He pauses for a breath, staring the rookie cop down with an intensity that makes you want to squirm, "You take it out... or you run. Got it?" 

This mans is really freaking good at leaving his audience hanging onto his every word, at making you want to follow his orders even if it doesn't all make sense. 

You find yourself nodding along even though he isn't necessarily talking to you. 

"Yes, sir." 

It's at this moment that Marvin's legs decide to give out, for he collapses back against the black couch again and groans in pain. 

"Marvin, please let me look at it." You urge in a soft voice, crouching down onto your haunches next to him. "I can at least wrap it up so you don't lose anymore blood, a-and that'll ease some of the pain too if you don't move it too much..." 

"No, I've said it before and I'll say it again: I do _not_ want you using those supplies for me. You keep them, you use them, and you get out of here in one piece." 

"But-"

"I'm not gonna argue with you too, missy, please..." He sounds drained, both emotionally and physically, and it makes you swallow your snappy reply. 

"What aren't you telling us?" The words spill from your mouth before you can stop yourself, "There's something wrong- something with your wound that you aren't telling me." 

Of course, Leon knows what you're talking about, but he wasn't going to _mention it_ ; he doesn't try to stop Marvin from answering that, though, nor does he tell you to ease off the little interrogation.

Marvin heaves a heavy sign, one that makes him wince and clutch at his wound harder, then slowly answers, "When you get bitten, it isn't something you just brush off. Something happens, it starts to kill you from the inside out with sickness, mental sickness, physical sickness, all of it. I know how this ends, I've seen it too many times not to. The bites, sometimes the scratches if you come into contact with blood, and the cities water. Bottled water only." 

Wow.

That's a lot of information to take in all at once, and it leaves you feeling just as helpless and hopeless as before. 

This night just keeps getting worse. 

"I-I'm sorry..." You whisper, placing your hand comfortingly on his knee, "I shouldn't've..." 

"Hey, don't waste your words on an apology, show me. Get yourselves out of here and _show me,_ dead or not, that you understand what I'm tellin' you. Please." 

His hard exterior only conceals the fear of the unknown lurking beneath the surface, but you don't mention it; it's something he's sharing with you in what may be his last hours, and you don't want to betray that little ounce of trust. 

"Okay." You nod your head, then slowly return to your feet, "We will." 

\---

After that pretty serious conversation with Marvin and Leon, you break off to search around the main area, ignoring but also heeding Leon's warning to not go too far. 

What are you, some sort of easily distracted raccoon? You're not just gonna wander away to look at the first shiny thing that catches your-

You pause in place when something flashes you, blinding your left eye as it reflects the light of one of the fixtures above. Curiosity immediately gets the best of you, and you waltz towards whatever it is with a slight skip to your step. 

Maybe it'll be something cool- this is a police station after all, they're bound to have some neat stuff lying around. 

It shouldn't be a problem since you're just up the stairs next to that cool lion statue, so you crouch down next to that huge pile of things and search for the thing that initially caught your eye. 

What you end up finding is a big combat knife, blade shiny and clean with a chipped handle. 

Judging by the odd positioning of the knife under all these things, you assume it was dropped or stashed or something. 

Hopefully not stashed, because you've now claimed dibs on it (and there are no take backsies on dibs). 

You shift your position into a kneeling one, taking out the flashlight you found to peek under all the stuff stacked up and thrown into this pile haphazardly. 

There's nothing right in the front that catches your attention, but when you get down on your stomach and crawl forward with the flashlight clutched in your hand, you see a red carton tucked behind the table and under one of the many chairs in the pile. 

You reach over and grab it, shining the light down on the carton to figure out what exactly it is. 

Inside are a bunch of bullets, it's full, no empty spaces signifying any shots being fired off. 

You make a face of disappointment at having found something not too interesting, but it _is_ helpful since you vaguely remember Leon saying something about being low on ammo. Is this even the right type of bullets for his weapon? You've got no clue. 

Leon's voice echoes throughout the main hall as he suddenly calls your name, a bit of a worried undertone hinting at the sound of it. 

His call startles you slightly, and you realize that you kinda did exactly what he told you not to. 

You start to shimmy back and raise to your knees, severely underestimating how far under the stacked furniture you crawled. 

The chair above you screeches against the marble floors as you slam the top of your head into it, and the cushioned chair on top of _that_ chair wobbles and crashes down onto the flipped table. 

"Ah, crap!" You yelp, placing your hands over the bump instinctively despite everything falling down around you. 

It's basically a domino effect; you hit the chair, the chair on top falls over, and everything stacked on and around that second chair shifts and crashes to the ground as well. 

By some miracle nothing else falls on you except for a disassembled office chair that lands on your legs, though that doesn't hurt very much, but you stay on the ground completely still until all the gravity stuff stops. 

"(Y/N)? Are you alright?" Quick footfalls that steadily get closer tell you that you've thoroughly freaked out your poor companions, but you don't say anything right away and just start to push yourself out from under the chairs once again. 

Once you're about half-way out, a pair of hands take the office chair off of your legs and you hear Leon's voice above you. 

"Are you okay?" He repeats, adding a quick, "Do you need help?" 

"Uh, yeah. I'm okay." You're not quite sure if you need help yet, so you use your elbows to push yourself the rest of the way out. 

This time, you're sure not to slam your head into anything and get back up to your knees when there's nothing above you. 

The hit to the head isn't anything serious, but it does ache a little bit which you do't particularly like. 

You look up and see Leon looking down at you with a twinge of worry, but it dissipates when you offer him an awkward, slightly guilty, grin. 

He holds his hands out for you to grab once you finally look up at him, something that isn't exactly necessary but very much appreciated, and you take full advantage of his offer and place both of your hands in his lightly. 

The rookie officer pulls you up with minimal effort and smiles dashingly once you're back on your feet, "Mind telling me what you're doing crawling under barricades?" 

Oh, right. You completely forgot 

You pull the knife out of your pockets and pick the box of bullets up and hold them out to him, a smile working its' way onto your face that shows you're rather proud of your findings here. "I found these!" 

"Oh, nice." He takes the box of bullets from your outstretched hand and looks them over briefly before taking out his gun and refilling it. "I was out, great find." 

"Is there enough?" You ask as he finishes loading his original gun.

"For now. 15 in total, should be enough until we find some more." He confirms. 

Well, will you look at that. You just saved the day! Kinda. 

"I guess I'll keep an eye out for more, then. Are we gonna go?" 

"Yeah, Lieutenant Branagh said the chainlink blocking off that one hallway can be opened with the taped off control panel next to it, so we can start there." 

Sounds like a plan.

The two of you head down the stairs and go straight for the blocked off hall, and, as Marvin said, the electrical box next to it raised the shutter without any issue. 

"This is not how I imagined my first day..." Leon mumbles while the two of you wait for it to completely rise, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. 

You can't exactly relate, but you certainly do get it. 

He probably doesn't want to you reply to that, so you decide to change the subject with a question. "Do you think we'll really find any other survivors?" 

Leon is silent for a moment after you ask your question, not replying right away since, truthfully, he's not entirely sure himself. "I don't know.. It's possible, hell, after the night we've had I think anything is possible." 

That's probably the best you're going to get, so you don't say anything else. 

You guys find some more bullets, a weird green plant, more blood, and a door behind a divider in the back corner of this perviously blocked off room. 

"Want me to hold those herb leaves?" You offer as Leon presses his ear against the door to listen for any signs of 'life', toying with one of the snapped strings on your bag idly. 

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great." He holds the herb out to you and steps away from the door, telling you after you put away the green plant, "I don't hear anything on the other side, so I think it's safe to go." 

You nod your head and string your bag back over your shoulders, nodding your head for him to go ahead and open the door. 

When he does, you're greeted with the sight of another dark, semi-empty hallway. There are no bodies or undead people, so you take that as a good sign so far. 

This good sign is interrupted by the blood splatters everywhere and the pungent smell of death attacking your poor nostrils. 

The both of you creep down the hall, Leon shining his light down the blocked off turn to make sure there's nothing there, but your attention is on the dead uniformed officer hunched over at the end of the hallway whom you didn't originally see. 

"Leon..." You whisper, grasping his sleeve lightly and tugging on it to get his full attention incase he didn't hear you, "Look over there." 

He follows your line of sight to the downed officer and holds up a finger to his lips, raising his gun and flashlight as he approaches with silent, methodical steps. 

You hear some weird radio frequency echo throughout the hallway, something about a touchdown at RPD and some river, but it's probably just interference with the dead officers radio. 

Leon keeps his light on the officer and puts his gun away when he doesn't rise, crouching next to him. 

You can see bloody red flesh along the side of his face, though you can't see all of it. 

"Hmm..." The blond rookie cop reaches up with his free hand slowly, mumbling, "What...?" before slowly lifting the limp head with his palm and thumb cradling his forehead. 

The dead officers' eyes are milky white with only remnants of his iris and pupils lurking in its' murky depths, but the eyes aren't what get you. The more his head is lifted, the more of his mangled, ripped face comes to view, and you're shocked to see a mixture of muscle, skin, and pure flesh connect his lax jaw with his upper cheek and severed ear. 

His neck is just as bad as his disconnected jaw, but you barely even notice it for the stringy flesh begins to stretch and tear away from his lifted head. 

"Oh... oh what the fuck?" Leon whispers, pausing once he seems to remember who exactly is with him. He turns his head quickly and hisses, "Don't look." 

It's, of course, too late, but a weird noise coming from down the hall catches both of your attention. 

"Huh? What?" He jumps to his feet and shines his light down the hall, searching for whatever made that noise only to see the hanging body of another officer. 

His head is what's holding him up, a pipe stuck through the middle of his blood dripping face makes you queasy very suddenly; your stomach drops and your legs grow heavy as the unbearable urge to throw up makes you turn away and gag. 

The blood puddle at the hanging officers feet, the pipe protruding through his face, and the sight of all those insides nobody was ever supposed to see is all too much, but you manage to not throw up and instead just fall onto your butt and hide your face from the world. 

"Hey, hey..." You feel a heavy hand press into your back and 'sense' him kneel down next to you, and when he continues, his voice is soft and soothing, "I'm sorry you saw that- I should've made you stay with the Lieutenant..." 

Now that certainly grabs your attention. 

You slowly remove your trembling hands from your face and turn your head to look at him, speaking with a slightly quivering, yet oddly confident, voice, "No, i-it's safer if we stay together. Marvin said so himself." 

"Yes, but...," he trails off and sighs wearily, shaking his head, "Whatever did that could still be lurking around, I don't want you to get hurt." 

"Ah, I don't want me to get hurt either... but, I think that I'd have a better chance of surviving with you than by myself." 

"You wouldn't have to survive if you wait in the main hall." 

Good point. 

"Well, yeah... but I wanna keep you safe too, in my own way." Gosh, you feel awkward for sounding so cheesy, but it's true. You need him to get you through this, and he could really use your logical expertise. 

That, and you really wanna find out if Claire is okay. She should be here now, or soon (if she didn't get eaten, that is). 

"I promise I won't freak out again, I've just never seen anything like... t-that, before." 

Leon doesn't look like he particularly likes the idea of stringing you along for the ride since he doesn't know what'll happen, but he also doesn't want to just shove you aside and leave you to your own devices in the main hall. He doesn't even know if you'll be safe there by yourself, especially with Marvin's current condition. 

"It's not like I can really tell you no." He states suddenly, still crouched next to you with his hand on your lower back. "Let's go ahead and go, but if you wanna turn back then I'll take you back to the Lieutenant and finish this part alone. Sound good?" 

"Yeah." 

\---

You and Leon don't find anything super interesting in the hall except for a weird clover themed door and a great scare from the body hanging from a pipe that decides to suddenly drop down next to you two; however, it wasn't nearly as startling as the woman who came banging on the window down another hallway that perviously seemed to be empty and barren. 

You both kinda just ignored her and headed further down that hall, coming across double red doors that lead to your current location. 

It's a weird room with cheesy diner flooring, some vending machines, and a big podium semi-centered on a small stage at the back. There's a chalkboard with papers pinned all over it too, some pallets pushed up against the wall next to the stage, and a couple of other things scattered about. 

This room must be some sort of conference or operations room if the documents and map are anything to go by. 

The darkness spreads to every corner of the room, only thwarted by the light provided by the flashlights you and Leon hold. 

You turn and shine your light in Leon's general direction, seeing him looking through some papers with his light illuminating the words. 

"What's that?" You ask, voice barely a whisper since you're afraid of raising your voice above it. 

"They're records of the past week... This place was turned into a shelter at the beginning, but the station was attacked and infected got inside. The lost officers and civilians... the last report is from two days ago..." He finishes reading the last, and shortest, report, then shakes his head with a weary sigh. "I should've been here." 

Could this be survivors guilt? You aren't sure; but you are sure that he needs to stop blaming himself for everything. "Leon, I don't think you being here would've changed anything. You just would've been killed- or worse." 

Voice of reason ding ding. 

"Maybe you're right..." 

"I know I'm right." You shoot back, placing your hand on his bicep lightly, "Please stop blaming yourself, the pity party is suppose to be my thing." 

He looks down at you, his lips quirking up into a small smile, then nods his head, "I feel like our roles keep reversing." 

"Yeah..." You look down at your feet and drop your hand from his arm, "Let's just get through the night, and then we can freak out all we want." 

"Deal." 

You smile slightly and step away from him, then look over at the chained door to your left. "What do you think is behind there?" 

"Not sure. Maybe we can find a key or bolt cutters around here somewhere." 

Alright, moving on then. 

One of the papers on the chalkboard looks to be a map, and when you shine your light on it and take it down, you find that your initial assessment was right. 

"Think this'll be helpful?" You ask as you take it down, looking down at the blood stained map with furrowed eyebrows. 

It's a bit hard to see the right side of the map because of the blood (at least you're assuming it's blood like everything else in this station) smeared all over, but when you really look at it, it looks like someone tried to dab it off so the ink would be more visible. 

"Looks like it's a map to the rest of the station. We should take it with us." Leon states, looking at it from over your shoulder. "I can take it." 

You hand the paper off to him without issue and begin to gaze around the room again in search of anything interesting, and you see a broken window above the wooden palettes. 

It looks like maybe someone created a quick escape route leading from this room to another; maybe there's something important or useful on the other side. 

Wanting to get a peek, you climb up onto the stacked palettes and stand on your toes, grasping the edge of the broken window carefully to avoid cutting your hands. You poke your head through the window and peer down, looking left, then right, and see a large officer, dead, hitting one of the vending machines. It probably made a noise and got his attention. 

"What are you doing?" 

You pull your head back and glance at Leon, replying quietly, "Checking the hallway down there. I only saw one person, but I don't know if there's more." 

"Oh." He appears to not have expected that answer for some reason. "Good thinking. I'll go first, and then if it's safe, I'll help you down after me." 

"Kay." 

You hop off of the stack and make way for him to climb up, and he does so in record time. He doesn't even cut himself on the shards of glass jutting out nor does he fall when he jumps out of the window, something that impresses you. 

You jump back up onto the palettes and peek over the edge again, watching as he takes out the large officer with 3 shots, goes up and down the visible hall, then picks something up off a body on the floor to the left of the short hall. 

After he's checked the immediate area, he looks back up at the broken window and waves for you to come down. 

Now here. comes the tricky part. 

If you do it just like he did, then it'll probably be fine, plus you've got knee and elbow pads, so you can prop yourself up without getting cut - probably. 

You pull yourself up onto the window's sill and raise your leg to rest on it like Leon, then you lift yourself over and go down feet first. 

Leon grabs your upper arms when you start your free fall to keep you steady as you land on your feet, and it does wonders for your knees since you weren't exactly bracing yourself for impact. 

"Thanks." 

"Of course. Wanna keep going?" 

You just nod. 

When you turn again towards the vending machine side of the hall, you're met with the immediate sight of the large officer back on his feet, face red and mangled with three bullet holes visible on his ashen skin. 

"God damn it!" Leon yells, raising his gun again and firing off another two shots. 

The second blows part of his head off, and the officer falls for a final time. 

"I-Is he dead now?" You ask skittishly, having watched the scene unravel from your spot next to the window. 

"I dunno... let me check." 

And by check, he means 'stab him until he does or does not move to get up again'.

The officer remains completely motionless. 

"I think you got him." 

"Yeah, I think so too." 

The both of you sigh with relief, then continue forward. 

You turn down the bigger unexplored hall and see only one body, lots of blood, and some doors. 

The first door on the right is where you head first, but Leon stops you before you can open the door and does it himself. 

You keep forgetting the agreement you guys had. 

Inside, there is an office with lopsided blinds and a whole bunch of desks with things scattered about. 

Surely, there has to be something useful in here. It looks like a work area. 

Just like every other room in this damn station, it's really freaking dark. If you guys didn't have lights, then there would be no way you'd be able to even see your hand in front of your face. 

Luckily, you do have lights, so you manage to see the gunpowder on one of the desks as well as a guide for usage. 

Very helpful indeed. 

It doesn't look nor sound like there's anything troublesome in this office, so you meander on over to the open office while Leon reads through that gunpowder guide, poking your head inside first with your flashlight raised and guiding your path forward. 

The smeared path of blood leading into the office reveals the body of a man dressed in what you think is a janitors uniform, but he doesn't move or seem conscious when you get close, so you skirt around the body and tip toe to the desk. 

There are papers all over the wooden desk and the floor as well, but what really peaks your interest is the big metal safe shoved into the back wall. 

You reach up and grab the dial, turning it back and fourth aimlessly in hopes of getting lucky to no avail, then an idea pops up in your head. 

You rest down on your knees and turn your head to press your ear to the door of it carefully, recoiling only slightly because of how cool the metal is in contrast to your warm skin. 

Next, you grab the dial again and begin to turn it slowly, straining your ears to hear even with the silence of the room you're in. 

Left is your go to direction to start, and you turn the dial for quite a while before you finally hear a faint 'click' at the 9. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Shh!" You hush him verbally and with a wave of your hand, turning the dial the opposite direction just as slowly and carefully as you listen for that telling click. 

Leon abides by your single sound demand and just stands there in the doorway with his gaze focusing down on you momentarily before he looks back out to make sure nothing new has surfaced in the background. 

Another click on the 15 brings a smile to your face, and then, one you turn in the other direction again, you find the last number to be 7. 

You grab the handle after completing the sequence and turn it, giving a little 'whoop' of victory when it opens. 

"Ta-da!" You pull the little metal door open and look inside, seeing a little hip pouch sitting inside. It's an official RPD one, not that its' branding particularly matters, and looks spacious enough for a couple of useful things. 

Your backpack has plentiful space itself, but you can't haul around everything. 

The pack is light and empty when you snatch it from the safe, and there's nothing else inside. 

Kind of an odd thing to keep in a bulky safe like that, but it's still a nice little treat. 

You jump to your feet and hold the pouch out to him, smiling brightly as you chime rather cheerfully, "I got you a gift." 

Leon looks down at the pack, then mirrors your smile with one of his own; looks like he appreciates your gift. "Nice, that really helps." He accepts the pack and fastens it to his belt, raising his arms as he asks, "How do I look?" 

"Um... like a dude with a bag on his hip?" 

He initially looks like he doesn't find your sarcasm very amusing, but after a few moments of looking at your cheery expression and cheesy thumbs up, he is no longer able to stop the amused quirk of his lips. "You're really something else. How did you even know to do that?" 

Now _that_ is a good question with a lame answer. 

"I read it in a book once. Thought I might as well try it out..." Suddenly, you're feeling a little embarrassed. Is that reason not good enough? Does it make you sound like a weirdo? 

Your internal insecurities are incorrect, because he just laughs and pats you on the shoulder, "You just keep on impressing me." 

You practically beam at his praise, feeling a happy little flitter in your chest from satisfaction of being recognized for your efforts. 

"I guess it just comes to me naturally."

Your false arrogance is met with an amused puff of laughter from Leon, but this nice little moment of lightheartedness doesn't last long, for you don't want to be taken by surprise incase anymore of those things are waiting around for you. 

Leon starts to go through the desks in search of anything useful, but an open file catches your eye when you step out. 

The black file is open and has papers on both sides of it, but you ignore the ones on the left in favor of reading over the written notes signed and dated by Elliot Edward. 

Elliot: that's the name of the officer who you and Leon tried to save when you first got here if you recall Marvin's words correctly. 

"September 28th, 2:30 AM..." You read out loud, gathering Leon's attention from across the desks. 

> "It's down to just me and 3 others. No weapons, no ammo, and too many skirmishes have drained us mentally and physically. We're not gonna make it. Officer Phillips once suggested we escape through the sewers. Apparently, there's a secret tunnel under this place left over from its museum days.  
>   
> I brushed her idea off before, but now, it's not sounding all that bad. Yeah, there's no proof there's even a tunnel or that the sewers aren't infested with zombies, but I don't wanna sit here and wait to die, either.  
> It's a long shot, but I'm gonna try to find out what I can about that tunnel."

You pause to let your recitation of the dead officers words sink in, then you add softer, "Signed, Elliot Edward."

It hurts your heart to think that he had so much hope for this supposed secret tunnel only to have it, quite literally, cut up into shreds.

It's cruel really, knowing that he was so close to getting out of here, if his book is anything to go by. He even said as much when you and Leon were watching him from the security feed, that the solution to getting the hell out of here lies in that book. 

"That's probably what all the illustrations in his journal are about." Leon comments, his eyebrows furrowed as a troubled expression works its way onto his face. 

Maybe trying to think up solutions will get rid of some of this inner turmoil; with this in mind, you ask, "What do you think they belong to?" 

"I'm not sure... hopefully we'll figure it out soon, though." 

You nod your head in agreement and look away from him, noticing the numerous books scattered across the floor and all the upturned chairs everywhere. 

There's a dead officer hunched over a desk in a chair, maybe his desk, but you can't stand to look at it so you turn your head and advert your gaze up towards the ceiling; what you see makes your heart drop. 

Hanging up on the ceiling are two banners with yellow letters encircled in blue (or maybe black) papers strung from the left of the room all the way to the right. It reads, 'Welcome Leon' in all capital letters, and it frames what you assume is, was, his new desk. 

Leon notices the banners and his would-be desk at around the same time as you, and you can see the pain in his eyes and the guilt in his expression, but you say nothing of it and let him have a silent moment to mourn on his own. 

He takes a small paper off of his desk and reads it over quickly, the frown on his lips deepening further when he reads the hand written note splotched with blood at the bottom of the paper. 

You step up next to him and look down at the letter combination lock holding the right side of his desk closed, taking it into your hand and tugging on it lightly. 

"The combination is the first letters of the names of my desk-mates. Think you can get that side while I get this one?" 

Sounds easy enough, so you nod your head and drop the lock, looking over the desks in search of nameplates. 

_The first one is Marvin's desk, easy to remember, the second is Rita, so MR, and the third..._ You don't see the nameplate on the desk, so you step closer and glance around the dead body nervously. 

Right before you can begin to look for the missing nameplate, the dead officer in the chair raises to his feet suddenly and knocks back the chair, ripping a startled half-screech half-gasp from your throat. 

The zombified officer doesn't even get time to turn towards you before a loud bang resounds through the office followed by the undead man's head exploding with a wave of blood and splattering of brain matter and flesh. 

You manage to scramble away in time to avoid being splashed with the mans head juices (for lack of a better term) and blood, but as disgusting as it is, when your eyes follow the fall of the body you spot the missing plate on the ground. 

George. MRG. 

"T-Thanks..." You stutter out after reading the nameplate, inching back towards his would've-been desk with your eyes locked onto the decimated head of the dead officer. 

"You okay?" He asks as he slowly lowers his gun and returns it to his holster, eyeing you with worry. 

Well, being as he didn't even get the chance to touch you before being shot down, you'd say yes. "Perfectly. You got the code?" 

Your swift subject change doesn't go unnoticed, but he doesn't comment on it either and only nods. 

"Okay, lets open up your desk then I guess." As you say it you trudge over to the lock on your side and enter the code 'MRG' and it clicks open as soon as you tug on it. 

Leon finishes his side in time with you, and once his letter lock is opened, he pushes the lid up and looks inside. 

Within the locked desk is a sleek black, rectangular gun part, though you aren't exactly sure what it goes to. It doesn't look like it'd fit in the gun Leon lended you, but maybe it'll go to the one he came with. 

The blond rookie cop snatches the thing up and pulls his gun out of its' holster again, transferring the bullets from his old gun into the new black rectangle; then, he pushes it into his gun. 

_A new magazine_ , you finally realize, _nice_. 

You look down and see one of those nameplates on his desk, with his name of course, which brings a small smile to your face for some unknown reason. 

The plate is metal and has a bit of weight to it when you pick it up from the desk to look at it, though there isn't anything outwardly interesting about it. It really is just a nameplate. 

You put it back down and turn away to look at something else, and the two holes in the walls leading into an unknown room are what catch you look at first. 

"What do you think's in there?" You ask out loud, leaning over the little middle desk area to poke your head through. 

"Hey, don't do that!" Leon snaps, striding over briskly to grab the collar of your shirt and pull you back, which he does. "We don't know if there's something in there." 

Oh, good point. 

The last thing you'd want is to have your face eaten off because you couldn't help but to poke your head through an unknown hole, it's just that Leon has the common sense to remind you of that fact. 

"Ah... sorry." Your apology is riddled with awkward and slightly nervous laughter, mostly because you just realized that your own stupidity is gonna be your downfall if you don't start thinking about what could be instead of what's right in front of you at any given moment. 

You gotta play 4d chess in this place, otherwise you'll be sporting some fancy new bite marks. 

"We've gotta be careful, no more assuming anything is safe anymore." He declares, leaving nothing up for consideration or interpretation. 

"You're right, I'm sorry." You repeat, casting a longing look through the opening before glancing back towards the cluster of desks in the middle of the room, "Is there anything else in here that we need?"

Leon purses his lips and slowly releases the collar of your shirt, looking around the room once before shaking his head 'no'. 

A soft groan from your right alerts both of you to the fact that the janitor looking man in that office has decided to wake up, something that makes you both groan internally. 

Nothing in this place wants to stay dead, unfortunately, which is really starting to frustrate you; especially since they seem to like choosing weird, inopportune times to do so. 

Leon shoots the dead man 3 times, and then he goes down. 

Is he dead indefinitely? You don't really know, but he's down for now, so you guys should probably just take your wins and scoot on out of here. If three gunshots to the head isn't enough to down him right now, then you guys might as well leave it for later. 

The blond to-be officer seems to agree with these sentiments, for he grabs your arm and makes a beeline for the door you came in from. 

You're met with another reanimated officer when Leon shoves the door open, but the undead man is slow to get up so he manages to slip by him without incident. 

Leon takes three more shots and blows his hat off his head, and on the third, he drops with his uniform headwear. 

The hall goes quiet once again as the both of you stare at the downed officer for a few moments. 

Your lovely companion huffs out a relieved breath, then turns to the other door just across the hall from the room you were just in and heads straight for it. 

He half-jogs towards the new door after mumbling for you to follow him (which you do without hesitation) and reloads his gun as he goes, re-holstering it once it's locked and loaded. 

The door swings open without issue, much like the other unlocked doors in this fucked up place, and what you find inside is a multitude of lockers, some weird fenced in back area, and a number pad at the front of said lockers. 

Leon pulls you inside and makes sure the door closes behind you, then he turns and starts to jog down the little walkway. 

He does a quick round down the walkway, through the door at the far end, then back up the path on the other side of the lockers, smiling at you briefly when he sees you watching expectantly. 

"Nothing to report other than some closed off lockers and a weapons locker out back with a pretty nice shotgun." 

His officer-ly 'report' back to you draws a quick laugh from you which makes him look at you oddly in turn, but you give no explanation and instead offer, "Want me to read off the locker numbers so you can unlock them? The keypad is really straight forward."

"Yeah, good idea." He tips his head to further show his approval of your offer, then steps up to the console and waits for you to read off some numbers. 

You waltz on down the little walkway and call off the numbers as you see them, quickly finding that the 2 and 3 keys are missing from the console. You also get your hands on a roll of film, weird, and some more bullets. 

"What? They can't be missing!" You voice your distraught thoughts with much indigence, adding after, "There's some really cool stuff in here! And that shotgun too, no keycard. What kind of station are they running, here?" 

The blond-haired man looks just as frustrated about it as you, but neither of you dwell on it for a paper catches your eye. 

You pick up the slightly dusty paper from the desk and read off the title, "Storage Lockers Terminal Memo...

> It appears that the keypad to the lockers terminal is missing a few keys. I suggest that the person responsible for this mess find some spare keys and fix this RIGHT NOW."

You pause momentarily as you silently read over the last bit, then add, "And at the end is says '(You know who you are, bastard. Who else would," another break in speech as you substitute the very strong language out, "er, 'screw it up this badly!?)'." 

"Sounds like a really nice guy." 

"The one who took the keys or who wrote the note?"

"Take your pick." 

Huh, fair enough. 

"Didn't realize you had a thing against swearing." Leon muses suddenly, amusement sparkling in his pretty blues and upturning the corners of his lips. 

You suddenly feel a bit embarrassed, and you unintentionally show it by tugging at the ends of your sleeves and adverting your gaze skittishly, "I-It's not that- I just, uh, I didn't want to." 

"Right." He laughs and pats your arm good-naturedly, nodding his head towards the boxes stacked up by the door you entered through, "Wanna look through those really quickly?" 

Now _that_ sounds loads better than sitting here all embarrassed (not to mention you'd like to stall returning out to those death halls for as long as possible). 

There's no telling what could be hiding behind or around any one of these doors or halls, so clinging onto these brief moments of simple gathering and small talk serves as a good buffer between rooms.

It's nice, and it gives you guys a chance to know each other better (which is important since danger lingers at every turn and you're entrusting your lives with each other). 

In this moment, you feel it's not so crazy to think that you guys might just make it out of here alive. 


	4. That's Handy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know much about developing film, so I could be butchering this completely. Same thing with the safe, I know that isn't how it works but for time's sake, it is.  
> If you see any errors in spelling, grammar, or have any suggestions then let me know! Feel free to leave me a comment or some kudos if you like, I love to hear from my readers!
> 
> Trigger Warnings: The usual stuff

Searching through the boxes turned up nothing other than some police gear and files, all of which you don't need. 

What wasn't so useless, however, was the green herbs and boards you guys found by the stairs at the end of the final hall in that area. You used them to support the window at the end of said hall so that the banging and screeching woman outside couldn't get in, which brings you to where you are right now. 

You spot the slightly hidden door first, having noticed it while Leon was hammering the boards into the wall, and bring it to his attention as soon as he turns to look at you. 

"Any idea what that room is?" You ask, pointing at the door. 

Leon takes out the map and looks at it for a few moments, searching for your current position before he confidently states, "It's labeled as the 'Dark Room'."

Dark room? As in 'room you can develop that roll of film in' dark room?

"Oh, that could be useful. We can develop the film." You offer up the roll as you say so, having put it in your pocket instead of your backpack. 

"Do you think it'll be useful?" 

"Good question. The answer? I have no clue, but we might as well try, right?" Better that you try it out and find out that it's nothing than not try at all and miss something important. 

The blond officer nods his head once, agreeing with your sentiments, then he pockets the map again and heads towards the room. "Okay." 

The two of you approach the closed door with caution, but when you open it and tip toe inside, you quickly find that there was nothing to worry about. It's clear of any dead or undead people, and, if you're seeing correctly, it looks like there are even some supplies in here to gather. '

It's out of the way, discrete, and, most importantly, safe. 

Your first observation of the room is how dark it is. You can barely see three feet in front of you, though the flashlight certainly helps. 

There's a cute little lamp on a table in the middle of the room, and it lights up the typewriter and files scattered about the surface. 

What really catches your attention, however, is the light switch mechanic on the far side of the room. 

You slip past Leon through the door and make a beeline for the switch, ignoring his exasperated call of your name while you blow past. 

A press of the button on the light thing proves fruitful, for seconds later the lights flicker on and illuminate the room in a fresh, lovely glow that makes you feel safe (even if you may not be). 

"Ta-da!" You call happily, turning around with your hands spread out with a jazz hands gesture. 

He doesn't look amused, but he doesn't scold you this time either. Looks like he's given up on telling you to stop wandering around. 

Even without him getting on your case, the look alone is enough to make you feel guilty for being so irresponsible, but you really can't help yourself! The urge to turn on the lights was too strong. 

Leon holsters his gun and ganders around the room, his sights locking on to the lockers just to his right. 

Being as he's moved on to something else, that something else being supply gathering, you decide to take a peek at that book looking thing you noticed on your way in.

On top of a small surface is a book about the medicinal benefits of herbs, and, interest having been peaked, you take a seat on top of said metal thing and thumb through the contents of the journal.

After briefly reading through the journal, you feel pretty confident that you could cook up some good quality health concoctions. It's really straight forward: find the herbs, grind them up into a powder, combine or take on their own, and live. Even a little kid could figure this out, so surely you'll be fine. 

While you read through the herb guide, you hear some of the lockers open and close while Leon goes through them, but you never look up to see what he's found. It's not that you don't care what he's found, more so that you're more interested in what _you've_ found. 

Once you're done skimming over the pages for a second time you take your drawstring bag off your back and place the book inside, finally looking at Leon again as he disappears into the other room attached to this one. 

That's probably the 'dark' part of this dark room, and, if it's stocked properly, you guys can develop that roll of film you found. 

You put your bag on again and follow him into the other part of the room, and the bright yellow sign is the first thing you see. 

"Film contains evidence, do not leave out." You read out loud, gaze catching onto a red plant sat at the edge of a counter. 

If you remember correctly, red herbs enhance the benefits of green and blue ones; though you aren't exactly sure what it'll do, it still makes you excited. 

You pull some of the stems off and shove them into your bag, ignoring the look Leon throws you. 

"Is that the developer solution?" You ask curiously, stepping up next to him to look down at the set up. 

"I think so. We can develop that role of film now, I think. Hopefully it'll tell us something helpful..." 

Now _that_ you certainly agree with. 

"Do you know how to do it?" You question as he takes the film out of his bag and begins to unravel it, feeling none to confident that the answer is yes. 

There's a moment of silence that doesn't make you feel any better about your doubts, and his answer completely crushes it, "How hard can it be?" 

Yeah, no. You're not gonna let him do it. 

"Okay step away from the film developer, Kennedy." Your tone promotes a warning, but your expression betrays your humor, "I'll do it." 

He eyes you skeptically, though the smile tugging at his lips shows that he gets the joke, "You can develop film too?"

"Um, no, what gave you that impression?"

Cue a deadpan stare. 

"I know the gist of it. It takes, like, 20 minutes and you can't expose it to light..." Your friend loved photography so you know a few things, but if you can get your hands on some instructions, then you'll be fine. "I can stay here and do this, that way I'll be fine and productive, and you won't have me dragging you down." 

His returned smile wavers at your suggestion, hesitance edging on both his countenance and his voice when he speaks, "You haven't been dragging me down." 

You don't reply. 

"Are you really okay with being here by yourself? What if one of those things wanders this way?" 

His worry makes your heart flitter joyously (and gratefully), and you can't help but find it kinda sweet, but that doesn't change your mind.

"I'll be okay. I've got a weapon." 

It's true, the likelihood of one of those crazies finding its' way to your door is so slim that the possibility doesn't really concern you, but it's much more likely that your chances of getting out of here get slimmer the longer you guys wait around. 

You're confident that this is the right course of action, even if it means splitting up like stupid teens in the horror movies. 

He looks like he wants to argue and disagree more, but your confident demeanor makes him think twice about it. 

Finally, he concedes. 

"Okay... I'll just do a bit of exploring and see if I can find any of those clues from the journal, and then I'll come straight back here." 

"Sounds like a plan." 

"But-" he pauses to ensure that your attention is on him, and, once he's certain that it is, he continues, "You have to promise me that you'll _stay here_ until I get back. Even if it finishes before I get back, you have to stay put and wait for me... please." 

Oh, well, how can you say no to that? 

"I promise I'll stay here until you get back." You repeat back to him to let him know you understand and will stick around, something that makes him visibly relax. "I _can_ take care of myself, though." 

"I know you can, but..." He trails off and looks away from you, beginning to fiddle with his side bag slightly awkwardly, "I'd just feel a lot better if I knew you were safe here." 

While you would like some further elaboration on his statement, you instead accept his answer and smile at him, "Well, I wouldn't want you to feel bad..." You leave it open ended, but the smile one your face makes him feel less nervous. 

Your lighthearted smile melts into a frown as a worried furrow and downwards tilt of your lips replaces your joy, "Please be careful." 

"I will be. I don't want to keep you waiting." 

\---

The development of the film takes about as long as you expected it would, and each agonizing minute you spend waiting is worse than the last. 

You aren't sure what's worse, having nothing to do and being bored out of your mind, or being worried out of your mind because of how long Leon's been gone. 

Not knowing if he's dead or alive, human or zombified man, and just waiting for him to return is eating at your sanity, and you're not sure how much longer you can wait around (even though you promised to wait until he got back). 

Once the film was finished and you took a look at the photo once hidden in a veil of black, you found that the picture was of a white statue of a king looking man holding a jeweled scepter and a red book. 

You haven't a clue what it's supposed to be for, but maybe it'll make more sense a little later. 

At around the 35 minute mark, around 10 minutes after the film finished developing, Leon comes bursting back through the doors 

It startled you at first since he barged in without so much of a knock, but you got over the surprise and minute amounts of fear in time to run over and pull him into a crushing embrace. 

You know for a fact that your sudden affinity for physical gestures of relief and affection are because of your horrible paranoia and crippling concern for him, but that doesn't stop you from being internally surprised by the extremity of your reaction to his reappearance. 

Even so, you keep your grip tight until you push him away at arms length (pushing away all intrusive thoughts regarding how nicely built this mans is) and do a quick once-over of his body to look for any signs of injury or wounds; and when your search comes up empty, you allow yourself a moment to relax. 

"Oh thank god. I was getting so worried!" You exclaim, your fingers squeezing into the padding on his shoulders. "You were taking so long- I was afraid something happened to you!"

He seems taken aback almost by your extreme display of alleviated distress, but he doesn't find it annoying or disturbing; it really just lengthens his growing fondness for you. 

"I'm sorry." He begins in a soft tone, reaching up and placing his hands on your shoulders in return, "I didn't realize I was taking so long... a lot happened, but I found lots of things that might help us out of here." A pause, then he timidly adds, "Oh- and, um, I'm okay." 

He answered the question swimming in your brain before you even had a chance to ask it, but you're relieved to hear it all the same. 

"Good." You slowly let your hands drop from his shoulders but don't step back, looking up at him expectantly as you await an explanation. 

"Right, where do I start..." He returns his hands to his sides in time with you and uses his, now free, hand to run through his blond hair, "I found a lot of supplies, some shotgun shells, another pouch, some plastic red book thing- I got my hands on one of the missing buttons to that safety deposit room, and a key for one of those card themed doors too. What else..."

All the excitement seems to be messing with his brain, specifically the memory portion of it, but he recovers with the rest of the information not too long after, "Oh! You know those drawings and symbols in officer Elliot's book? It belongs to statues in the station, like the lion one in the main hall, and I got my hands on two of them; the unicorn and lion ones. There's another upstairs in a cell area, but we can't reach it right now." 

It sounds like there's something he isn't telling you, but you decide that maybe you don't want to know. "That's great! How many did we need?" Thank god you're making some progress, not to mention, you're ecstatic that the secret tunnel thing is actually real. 

"There are three in the book, so I'm assuming that many?" He doesn't sound particularly confident in that assessment, but the logic is perfectly sound to you.

Something he mentioned originally strikes a cord in your brain that makes you go silent for several moments, and, once you've had a moment to form a coherent thought now that you know Leon is safe and you aren't gonna be stuck here forever, you go back into the red room and retrieve the photograph. 

"You said a red book?" You ask as you return to his side, looking down at the photo thoughtfully, "Like this one?" 

When you point out the book in the picture his expression brightens with recognition, and you feel momentary triumph at having figured something out (even if you don't know what the something goes to). 

"Yeah, that's it!" He confirms as he pulls the book out from one of his bigger pouches, brandishing it to you proudly. 

"Any idea what it goes to?" 

"That's what I was going to ask you." 

Fair enough. 

You put the picture down on the table next to the two of you and try not to feel disappointed. 

_"Leon? (Y/N)? It's Marvin. I need you guys back here ASAP."_

The sudden radio call stuns you both into silence for a few short moments, and once it settles into your brain that Marvin is calling for you, Leon fumbles the walkie talkie off his belt and responds.

"Are you okay, Marvin?" His worry is just as prominent on his face as it is in his intonation, and you're sure that you're no better. 

_"I've got something to show you. It's important."_

Before Leon can respond, you snatch his hand holding the portable radio and squeeze your fingers over his to press the button, "We'll be right there!" 

_"See you in a bit."_

After a moment of radio silence you drop Leon's hand and tug at the ends of your hair nervously, hoping that nothing bad has happened. 

Realistically, if it was something bad then he would've sounded more panicked, but you can't keep the paranoid concerns from edging into your mind. 

Leon is exactly the same, but he doesn't mention it either. 

"I guess we should go ahead and go, then." 

\---

On your way back to Marvin, Leon describes two notes he found on his solo adventure. 

One described a horrible sounding monster that is supposedly roaming the halls of this cursed place, and the other details the atrocious actions of some deranged person who personally sentenced multiple officers and, apparently, civilians to death. 

You aren't too keen on meeting any of these things/people, and neither is your blond friend. 

The both of you end up having to take an alternate route back to Marvin since the window you jumped through is a bit too high up to climb easily and safely, but it isn't too dangerous of scary. 

There are a few of those things on your way and a lot of blood and eerie darkness, but the only real issue was going through the library which was still occupied by a few undead. 

The key Leon found worked with ease on the locked door of the library, and before you know it you're both approaching a sicker looking Marvin seated next to the police computer with all those security feeds and files on it. 

"Marvin, are you okay?" You ask as soon as he's within earshot, gaze locked on his massacred side and bloody right hand. 

The dying officer doesn't acknowledge your worried question and instead addresses your sudden appearance, "There you are... Come here and take a look at this." 

You and Leon exchange a glance, then go over and look down at the screen. 

Marvin maximizes one of the security feeds, and, at first, you aren't sure what exactly you're looking at. The image is blurry and decolorized, but when you finally see the subject of Marvin's radio call. 

Standing at a fence outside of what you assume is the police station, is Claire. Alive, well, and stuck outside with those freaks wandering the streets - not that she would be any safer in here necessarily. 

A bright smile flashes onto your gloomy face once you make out Claire's form, and Leon's verbal reaction about sums up how you're feeling. 

"Yes! I knew she'd make it!" 

"You know her?" Marvin gasps with lots of effort, looking up at your and Leon's hopeful faces. 

You nod your head vigorously and reply right as your companion opens his mouth to, "It's Claire! She made it- w-where is that?" 

Maybe, if she's not far off, you guys can help her inside and you can find a way to safety together; though, if you guys can't get out, then she won't be able to get in...

"We came into town with her." Leon explains, tearing his eyes from the screen to instead look at Marvin.

"You can get to the courtyard through the second floor, east side." He barely gets the words out before he's hissing and sucking in sharp breaths to ease the pain, but you know he won't want you to mention it or ask if he needs help again. 

You barely keep yourself from trying to tend to him, but you manage and look away from him sharply. 

"We're on it." Leon confirms, adding in a softer voice after, "Thanks, Lieutenant." 

Marvin says nothing else, something you're glad for since it seems to put heavy strain on his energy reserves, and goes back to resting, clutching his side and huffing with exhaustion. 

Your heart aches, but you remain silent and wait for Leon to plan your next move. 

He turns his gaze over towards that metal shutter you first ventured through upon arrive here and sighs heavily, pulling his gun out of its' holster as he turns to that spade door just in front of Marvin's couch. 

You're not too keen on going back into that death hallway where Officer Elliot died, but if it means that you'll get to see Claire in person, then you'll be able to push through the pain and fear. 

How you're going to get to the east hallway is something else entirely; the metal shutter's opening and closing mechanism is broken or something, so you'll have to figure out another way back in there.

Looks like Claire is going to have to wait a little bit longer. 

You haven't checked the right side of the upstairs area yet, so maybe there'll be a way into the east area from over there. Of course, you'll want to try and check first, but does the map even have the schematics of the upper floors? Guess you'll have to look. 

"Can I see the map?" You ask as Leon takes out the spade key from his hip pouch. 

He looks back at you curiously and clarifies, "Which one?" 

"There's more than one?" 

Leon suddenly takes on a sheepish expression as realization dawns on him, and he sounds it too when he speaks. "Oh... right. I knew I was forgetting to tell you something. I found a map for the upstairs when I went out by myself earlier." 

Well that certainly solves your problems. 

"In that case, give me the upstairs map. You can unlock that and I'll plan our route to Claire." 

He nods his head in affirmation and takes the map out of his back pocket, handing it off to your awaiting grasp. 

Once you've got it, Leon turns away to unlock the door and you unfold the map to do some searching; and it only takes a few seconds the for both of you to complete your objectives. 

Marvin mentioned the second floor, yet you stupidly didn't realize that the route to the exit would be a straight shot; literally. 

All you have to do is go in through the upstairs lounge and exit through a far door inside which leads to the hallway that holds the exit. It's horribly simple; so simple, in fact, that you feel kind of silly for even worrying about it in the first place.

"Okay, the way outside is pretty straightforward. All we have to do is go through the lounge upstairs and we'll find the hall that leads to the exit." Your explanation is a little oversimplified and doesn't take into account any horrors that may be waiting up there, but it should suffice for the time being. 

Leon nods his head to portray his agreement with your half-plan, and with that, you depart to join Claire outside. 

The two of you speed up the stairs after you say a quick goodbye to Marvin and walk along the east catwalk, finding an unlocked door that leads to the lounge marked on the map. 

Your blond companion walks in first with his gun raised and senses sharp, but it just goes to waste since there's nothing of note lurking inside (not that, that's a bad thing). 

It's not a very big room, but it is nice and bright and completely lacks any dead people or creepy things.

There's a green herb, which you swipe, on a table to the left and another safe tucked away behind the desk to the back, but not much else other than that. The safety and lack of cannibalistic undead humans makes up for the lack of supplies, though. 

Leon spots the safe a few moments after you round the desk, and the sight of it draws a sigh from him. "Another one of these, wonder what's in it." 

"Well, you won't have to wonder for long." You shoot back cheekily, dropping to you knees in front of the safe so you can work your movie magic. 

"Should I give you two a moment?" He asks with a joking edge to his voice, amused by his own jest. 

You don't dignify his joke with a response and instead press your ear against cold metal of the safe's door, wrinkling your nose up with distaste as the chilled surface burns your ear. 

Why's it have to be so fucking cold every time? 

You start your safe cracking and find the combination to be left 6, right 2, left 11, or 6-2-11. 

The door clicks and the handle turns, and when you open it up, there's a small black nozzle looking thing sitting in the center of the box. 

You reach in and take it between your index finger and thumb, bringing it up to eye-level in an attempt to figure out what exactly it is. 

Unfortunately, you draw a blank, but Leon certainly doesn't. 

"Is that a Muzzle Break?" He inquires from behind you, an excited edge seeping into his voice. 

That hinting excitement makes you smile fondly, but you don't put it into words; you just turn and hold it up to him. 

The rookie officer accepts the small gun part with vigor and takes out his gun so he can put it on, a nice, positive shine brightening his already lovely eyes. 

Did you say lovely eyes? You mean blue. 

Leon works on attaching the small bit to the end of the barrel of his gun, and while he does that, you return to your feet and glance over the counter, noticing a little travel pamphlet. 

You reach over and swipe the pamphlet from the top of the counter, flipping through it briefly for anything interesting. 

All it really talks about is the polices stations history of being an art museum, some stuff about the Umbrella Cooperation, and the cities old Orphanage, nothing all that interesting. 

You replace the pamphlet back onto its' original resting place and direct your attention back to your blond friend only to find him already looking at you. 

A feeling of awkwardness and slight embarrassment fills you when you meet his gaze, but you try to not make it too obvious. 

"S-Should we go?" You mentally curse yourself for the broken speech at the beginning, but if Leon notices your internal struggle, he doesn't say anything about it. 

He clears his through and replies just as awkwardly as you, "Right, of course. I'll go first."

The rookie cop does just that; he approaches the door and unlocks it with the spade key, pushing it open once the lock clicks. 

What lay behind the door is another long hallway that stretches out in both directions; to the left is some boards you could use for the windows, and to the right is a window and sharp corner that opens up to another hall. 

Some sort of weird buzzing noise fades into existence and steadily grows louder the longer you both stand there; you strain your ears in an attempt to make out just what the sound is, but the straining doesn't last long because the noise morphs into the unmistakable thrum of spinning helicopter blades. 

For a split second you feel hopeful that it might be a rescue team, but when the quickly approaching propellor doesn't quiet or slow, you realize that, that's not going to be the case; moments later there's a loud crash, and the whole building trembles as the chopper collides with something. 

"Oh my god..." You gasp, looking up at Leon with wide eyes. 

He looks just as shocked as you do, though there's an unnerved and worried crease that stresses at his brow-line. "That didn't sound good." 

"Should we see if we can help?" Your suggestion hesitant and doesn't sound all that convincing, mostly because you don't think going towards such a loud crash is a good idea since these monsters are attracted to sound. 

"I don't think that's a good idea..." It sounds like refusing to help physically hurts him, but he doesn't take it back. "We don't know where it is, much less if there's anything lurking around it." 

He brings up an excellent point, one that was already teasing at the back of your mind, but it still nags at your morals since you don't know if there was anyone alive on that helicopter or not. 

Neither of you say anything else about it, so you try to move on. 

You turn your head to the left and stare at the boards at the end of the hall for a few moments, then you start to tip toe over as silently as you can; maybe there'll be something helpful over there. 

You hear soft footsteps following just behind you as you near the end of the left part of the hall, though Leon doesn't stop you to do it himself this time around, he just tails you.

There's a door up against the wall by the area you're nearing, and when you peek around the corner, sure to be very cautious, you see that there's nothing there except for another metal shutter and some sort of hand-crank thing that's missing the 'crank'. 

Who the hell removed the crank from this thing? What purpose would that even serve? 

"Well, that's unfortunate." Leon grumbles from behind you, probably also wondering why the crank would be randomly removed like that. 

"It is, but I don't think we need to go this way to find Claire. The exit is back down the other way." Hopefully that explanation will make him feel a bit better. 

It seems like it does because his miserable frown softens and he looks relieved, "Good, we should hurry, don't wanna leave her waiting for long." 

You nod your head in agreement and step away from the crank-less shutter mechanism, going back towards the way you came so you can go through the exit and finally see Claire. 

How long has it been since you were separated; since you first entered the city? It feels like it's been minutes, but also days at the same time (even though it can only have been an hour or two so far). 

A giddy, happy feeling settles in your chest at the thought of meeting up with Claire again, even though you guys only met recently, and there's a bit of a skip in your step that betrays just how excited you are. 

Leon calls your name and you halt in place, looking back at him curiously.

"We should check out this room first." He tells you, pushing his back against the unlocked door to open it. 

He turns with the door so his back isn't to anything that may be inside, but it's clean of any crazies. 

You stride inside after him and peer around curiously, noting the little magazine resting on a chair off to the side before starting to look at everything else. 

A green lamp on a small table casts a soft white glow that illuminates the surface, and on this surface is a small card looking thing. There's statues, pottery, and just a bunch of art stuff in general, but the thing that grabs your eye the most is the huge red jewel inside of a scepter that a big white statue of a king holds. 

It makes sense that there would be some art things everywhere since the police station use to be a museum, but whole-ass artifacts and jewels? 

It's then that you realize the statue looks really familiar, like photograph-you-developed-not-20-minutes-ago familiar. 

You shrug off your drawstring bag and take the plastic red book that Leon gave you out of it, visualizing the photo in your mind as you gaze at the big white statue. 

What you notice is that the left hand of the statue is detached from the statue and resting on the table next to it, and the book you're holding is obviously missing from it as well. 

You walk past Leon and go towards the left-handless statue, clutching the plastic book in your right hand while you reach for the porcelain white stone hand sitting on that table. 

The carved hand is smooth and cool beneath your warm fingers, not as cold as the metal safes though, but something about it is also kind of weird; weird in a way that's hard to explain because you aren't actually sure what's weird about it. 

Somehow, you manage to jam the red book back into the awaiting hand of the statue, and, once they're combined, you carefully push the little knob of the disconnected hand into the empty hole just under the sleeve; you're surprised when a click vibrates throughout the statue after you push it all the way in, but even more shocking is when the opposite hand begins to rotate with quiet clicks. 

It rotates 90 degrees and remains motionless for a few moments, then the hand pops open and the scepter is freed from its' grasp. 

Your eyes are as wide as saucers once the fancy mechanism finishes its' little song and dance, and when you look back to see if Leon noticed, you're surprised to see that he's hovering just behind you. 

"Woah, that's handy." He breathes, unable to resist the pun even with his mind blown. 

You look up at him with a deadpan expression, despite finding the mini joke kind of funny, and reply, "That was horrible." 

A half-smirk curls at his lips upon hearing your disapproving tone, and he reinforces his lame humor with some more. "Horribly funny, yes." 

Oh, this man is so ridiculous. 

You groan over-dramatically and retrieve the scepter from the statues outstretched hand, reaching up and bonking him lightly on the head with it once it's in your grasp. 

He laughs and grabs the top of the scepter when you 'hit' him with it and steals it from you, twirling it around as he passes it between his hands and observes the outside. 

Something on the staff seems to. catch his attention, for he stops his fidgeting and begins to stare hard at it. 

After spinning it slowly one more time, Leon reaches up and flicks a little switch looking thing on it, and, as a result, the red jewel is released and it slips out of the crown of the scepter. 

Leon catches it with ease and holds it out for you to see, admiring it himself as it shimmers and shines in the dull light of this room. 

Honestly, it's really beautiful. The glittering red reflects all sorts of light and it's absolutely mesmerizing, but you're sure that it's probably actually made of glass or something; there's no way they'd leave a priceless gem in the middle of a police station, so it's got to be a fake...

This place is weird. 

"Well, that's cool." You break the silence after a few moments and look back up at him, "Want me to keep it in my bag?" 

The blond officer nods his head and hands the jewel to you, speaking as he does so, "The weapons locker key card was in here too." 

That's probably the card thing you saw on the table before you got distracted by the statue. 

"That's great!" You feel pretty positive despite everything at the moment, but also eager to see Claire, so you add, "I think we should hurry up and find Claire..."

He nods his head once and steps out of your space, trudging towards the door with his flashlight up and his gun hanging in his other hand at his side. 

You and your punny companion exit the art room and zoom down the hall towards the exit with record speed, but all thoughts of Claire fly from your minds when you see butt of the helicopter sticking out of the building. 

It's a black chopper that's half buried into the side of the police station, and there are bricks hanging loosely and dropping down onto the metal. The sound of the bricks clanging against the metal copter and raining down onto the ground below is unnerving when mixed with the pitter patter of raindrops and horrible silence of the night. 

The body of the pilot hangs limply in the drivers side, but there's no blood or gore for once. 

For some reason as you look at the mans lifeless body, you feel nothing; no fear, no empathetic sadness, no horror. Maybe it's because of all you've seen so far; regardless, you don't know if this is a good thing or not. 

Leon approaches the helicopter slowly with his light shinning on the body and you follow closely behind. 

"Hey!" A sudden call startles your attention away from the crashed aircraft, and the voice is very familiar. "Leon? (Y/N)?" 

You run over to the railing, Leon following moments after, and look over the edge, smiling widely when you see Claire standing down there behind the fence. 

Leon leans over the railing next to you and calls her name excitedly, a smile working its' way onto his face as well, and yells, "Hold on! We'll be right down!" 

"Ok!" She shouts back, a grin of her own brightening her pretty face. 

It's hard to hear what everyone is saying over the roaring rain and thunderous bellows from above, but the message seems to go over well since you all got the gist of what the other was saying. 

The two of you rush down the stairs by the crashed copter and miss the way it bursts into flames in your eagerness to converse with Claire, but it's not all that important when your lost friend shows back up at your chainlink fence. 

You run up to the fence and look at her with a joyful smile, grabbing onto the metal and curling your fingers through it, "Claire! I'm so glad you're okay!" 

Your enthusiasm seems to improve her own mood, for her small smile turns into a big one and her eyes light up, "So am I!" 

"It's so nice to see you." Leon states in a softer voice, stepping up next to you with his gaze locked on Claire. 

"How're you two doing? That helicopter really came out of nowhere."

Now that's the understatement of the century right there, but you'll allow it. 

"Yeah... we're in one piece." The blond officer answers, his voice betraying just how tired he already is of this bullshit. 

You reach down while they exchange pleasantries and yank on the door a bit, finding immediate resistance because it's locked. 

An annoyed huff blows past your lips and you yank on it again even though you know it won't heed any new results, and, just as you expected, it doesn't budge; looks like she's stuck out there unless one of you can find a key. 

"I'm guessing neither of you have a key, then." Claire comments after her and Leon observe your attempt to open up the door.

"Unfortunately, no." Leon replies for you, sighing himself at the doors immovability, "But how are you doing?" 

The red wearing brunette tries to play off the question nonchalantly by raising her arm and resting it against the chainlink, but you can still see the weariness and exhaustion in her eyes. "You know, just surviving." 

Even if her response makes her seem as cool as a cucumber despite it being the opposite, you still have to stifle a giggle with a fake cough. 

"I'm so glad you're okay- have you found anything on your brother yet?" You inquire softly, curling your fingers through the chainlink again. 

Claire's gaze adverts downwards as her countenance becomes much more somber, and her previously jokey, chipper tone dampens with her mood, "No, not yet..." She looks back at. you again and offers a half-hearted smile. 

"Claire, don't lose hope... I'm sure we're going to find him-" Leon doesn't get a chance to finish his thought, for a huge explosion shakes the entire courtyard and police station. 

You and Leon turn towards the source of the eruption, the helicopter, and are immediately blinded by a burning orange and yellow blast. 

Flames bloom from the artificial hole in the wall created by the destroyed aircraft and sparks rain down on you from the fiery blaze. The fire illuminates the immediate area around it and it paints your faces orange, but it's the sound-wave that really makes an impact. 

On cue, the monsters around you begin to rise, moaning and groaning as they blindly follow the source of the deafening blast. 

"Dammit. You know what that means..." Leon turns to look back at Claire again with a grimace after he says this, but his attention is drawn by movement just behind her. 

You look at the heads popping up from behind the fence and the body that's pushing itself up onto its' feet. 

"Yeah...," Claire breathes, turning slowly and taking out her gun as she finishes with a forlorn, "Dinner time." 

You can't help but wince at her joke even if it was meant to lighten the rising panic, but you understand that the humor is just a way of coping with the upcoming terror. 

"Please, be careful!" You know your exclamation can't stop fate from screwing you guys over, but damn it you have to try. 

Claire looks at you with her pretty blue eyes that expression her mental and physical exhaustion, but still she manages to spare a smile for you. 

She reaches towards your hands, which are clenched around the chainlink fence, white knuckled and bruising from the unconscious force you're exerting, and lightly curls the fingers of her free hand over yours through the fence; it seems that your descending mental state was more obvious than you originally thought, because you physically relax your grip and tense shoulders when she grabs your hand through the fence. 

"Hey, everything's going to be okay." She tells you in a soothing voice, looking you right in the eyes as she says it too. 

You swallow the lump forming in your throat and nod your head once, glancing over her shoulder at the crazies wanting to go towards the noise. 

Leon breaks through the silence with a warning tone, "Claire, I think you should go."

"Don't worry about me, you take care of yourselves." She's trying to be brave and collected by worrying about you two, but, honestly, she needs to take care of herself a little more urgently at this present moment. 

As if they were waiting for a signal to freak the fuck out, the people on the other side of the fence begin to slam and shake the barrier keeping Claire safe form them; and, from the looks of it, there are a lot. 

It seems Leon sees the same issues that you do because he, this time, yells for her to leave. "Claire, you need to go- _now!"_

The way Leon snaps at her gets her to move forward a few paces with her gun slightly raised, but she pauses and turns her head back towards you again, "Hey...," she begins softly, finishing with a hopeful gleam in her eyes, "Let's get through this. All of us."

"We will." You reply verbally and Leon dips his head to show he's acknowledging her request, and then she's gone. 

You stand there silently with your hands still latched onto the fence, watching her quickly retreating form with distress rolling off of you in waves, but when the zombified people begin to gain on your side of the barrier, you let your hands fall to your sides and step away. 

There's nothing you want more than for her to make it out of this hellhole in one piece, preferably one unbitten and unharmed piece, though you know that with the current state of the city, that may not actually happen. 

Hopefully, you'll all escape from here with your lives, but even if you do, none of you will be the same going forward; you're already scarred as hell and it's only been a few hours, not to mention you still haven't found (B/F) (much like Claire hasn't found her brother). 

You don't even know if they're alive or not, and, with the state of the police station, you're beginning to lose hope that they are. 

For now, you need to think about yourself and Leon; especially Leon, because something you can tell about him right away is that he would put his life on the line for you in a heartbeat. 

Damn his wonderful personality. 

All you can hope for is that you won't drag him down, that he won't get hurt by any means (your fault or not). 

The night will end soon, it's just a matter if you two will live long enough to see the sun rise. 

Please let this night end soon. 


End file.
